Abstract
Changes in the bacterial spectrum of cabbage heads after storage under commonly used storage conditions were examined in this study. Cabbage seeds (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) were artificially inoculated with X. campestris pv. campestris (Xcc), a serious pathogen of cruciferous plants causing black rot. Isolation of bacterial cultures from Xcc-inoculated and non-inoculated cabbage heads were carried out in two time points—at the day of harvest and after four months of storage. According to our previous research and literature reports, the most frequent genera of bacteria were chosen for PCR testing, i.e., Bacillus cereus group, Bacillus subtilis group, Pseudomonas sp., and X. campestris pv. campestris. A few of the obtained bacterial cultures were negative for the four above-mentioned species. In those, other bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. In both Xcc-inoculated and non-inoculated cabbage heads, changes of the bacterial spectrum over time were observed. The severity of Xcc infection of heads increased after four months of storage. Bacillus species represented the most frequently occurring bacterial genus. The presence of the Bacillus subtilis group increased significantly after storage in non-inoculated cabbage heads. The minor part of the other genera identified by sequencing in the first sampling were not detected in the stored cabbage heads. This was associated with a possible antagonistic behavior of Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp.
Highlights
Bacterial soft rots are very important post-harvest diseases of many vegetable crops and cause great losses in stored vegetables [1,2]
Symptoms on the X. campestris pv. campestris (Xcc)-inoculated and non-inoculated cabbage heads after storage are shown in Figures S2 and S3
The results showed that Xcc, a causal agent of black rot and bacterial soft rot, can survive at 1–2 ◦ C
Summary
Bacterial soft rots are very important post-harvest diseases of many vegetable crops and cause great losses in stored vegetables [1,2]. Capitata), an economically important crop, is susceptible to bacterial soft rot, caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. Carotovorum [Erwinia carotovora] [3]. Besides Erwinia species, major causal agents of bacterial soft rots of cruciferous vegetables are various species of Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Xanthomonas campestris pv. Campestris [1,4]. Soft rot occurs in stored fleshy vegetables and it is spread worldwide. The estimated losses caused by bacterial soft rot in stored cabbage vary between 15–30% of the harvested yield. The disease symptoms can be observed in the field, storage, or during transport and Agronomy 2020, 10, 443; doi:10.3390/agronomy10030443 www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy
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