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Pollination is an essential process for plants to carry on their generation. Pollination is carried out in various ways depending on the type of plant species. Among them, pollination by insect pollinator accounts for the most common. However, these pollinators have be decreasing in population density due to environmental factors. Therefore, use of artificial pollination is increasing. However, there is a lack of information on microorganisms present in the artificial pollens. We showed the composition of bacteria structure present in the artificial pollens of apple, kiwifruit, peach and pear, and contamination of high-risk pathogens was investigated. Acidovorax spp., Pantoea spp., Erwinia spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Xanthomonas spp., which are classified as potential high-risk pathogens, have been identified in imported pollens. This study presented the pollen-associated bacterial community structure, and the results are expected to be foundation for strengthening biosecurity in orchard industry.

Plants pollination are conducted through various pollinators such as wind, animals, and insects. Recently, the necessity for artificial pollination is drawing attention as the proportion of natural pollinators involved is decreasing over the years. Likewise, the trade in pollen for artificial pollination is also increasing worldwide. Through these imported pollens, many unknown microorganisms can flow from foreign countries. Among them, spores of various fungi present in the particles of pollen can be dispersed throughout the orchard. Therefore, in this study, the composition of fungal communities in imported pollen was revealed, and potential ecological characteristics of the fungi were investigated in four types of imported pollen. Top 10 operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of fungi were ranked among the following groups: Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., and Didymella glomerata which belong to many pathogenic species. Through FUNGuild analysis, the proportion of OTUs, which is assumed to be potentially plant pathogens, was higher than 50%, except for apple pollen in 2018.Based on this study of fungal structure, this information can suggest the direction of the pollen quarantine process and contribute to fungal biology in pollen ARTICLE HISTORY

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