Abstract
Woody fruit which stay on ornamental plants for a long time may present a risk of infection to other organisms due to the presence of pathogens on their surface. We compared the microbe communities on the fruit surfaces of garden ornamental Gardenia thunbergia Thunb. with those on other surfaces in the study region. As Gardenia fruit contain antifungal substances, the focus of this study was on the fungal communities that exist thereon. We used Illumina sequencing to identify Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV) of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the ribosomal RNA. The microbial communities of the Gardenia fruit are distinct from the communities from the surrounding environments, indicating a specialized microhabitat. We employed clustering methods to position unidentified ASVs relative to known ASVs. We identified a total of 56 ASVs representing high risk fungal species as putative plant pathogens exclusively found on the fruit of Gardenia. Additionally, we found several ASVs representing putative animal or human pathogens. Those pathogens were distributed over distinct fungi clades. The infection risk of the high diversity of putative pathogens represented on the Gardenia fruit needs to be elucidated in further investigations.
Highlights
Due to human activities, organisms have been moved around the globe over the last few centuries
We identified a total of 56 Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV) representing high risk fungal species as putative plant pathogens exclusively found on the fruit of Gardenia
This study was initially focused on fungal plant pathogens as a source of threats to ecosystems as well as crop and ornamental plants in new environments, we identified several animal and human pathogens as well
Summary
Organisms have been moved around the globe over the last few centuries Such translocations have led to invasions and naturalizations of alien species on all continents [1,2]. Some of these transports have been unintended, e.g., pathogens on crops, microbes on boots, crabs in water reservoirs of ships, etc. Studies on the microbial communities brought into new environments can be a possible measure of plant and animal/human disease prevention. This study was initially focused on fungal plant pathogens as a source of threats to ecosystems as well as crop and ornamental plants in new environments, we identified several animal and human pathogens as well.
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