The postharvest microbiome: The other half of sustainability

Abstract

Biological control of postharvest diseases has been suggested as a viable alternative to synthetic chemicals and has been the focus of considerable research worldwide for the last 30 years by many scientists and several commercial companies. Microbiome-based research has opened a whole new frontier that will greatly expand our knowledge of postharvest pathology and biology and offer new opportunities for developing novel approaches for biocontrol that are based on a deeper understanding of the complex interactions taking place between the resident microbiota and harvested produce. The postharvest microbiome is only beginning to be explored and the composition and functional effect of the microbiome on fresh produce after harvest is largely unknown. Determining if different commodities have a core microbiome that influences potential host-microbiome interactions has yet to be determined. Viewing harvested produce as a meta-organism, within the holobiont concept, and its recent iterations, may represent a useful model for the postharvest microbiome considering that harvested commodities represent dynamic systems with complex microbial community-host interactions. Understanding the functional role and impact of the endophytic and epiphytic microbiome of developing and harvested fruit would provide valuable information needed for the development of safe and effective, function-based biocontrol systems that can be used to enhance the shelf life of produce by controlling decay pathogens and perhaps even postharvest physiological disorders.