Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS) Data Reveal the Phyllosphere Microbiome of Wheat Plants Infected by the Fungal PathogenZymoseptoria tritici

Abstract

The fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici is the causal agent of Septoria tritici blotch (STB), a major wheat disease in Western Europe. Microorganisms inhabiting wheat leaves might act as beneficial, biocontrol or facilitating agents that could limit or stimulate the development of Z. tritici. Improving our understanding of microbial communities in the wheat phyllosphere would lead to new insights into STB management. This resource announcement provides fungal and bacterial metabarcoding datasets obtained by sampling wheat leaves with and without symptoms caused by Z. tritici. Tissues were sampled from three commercial wheat varieties on three sampling dates during a cropping season. Weeds around wheat fields were sampled as well. In total, more than 450 leaf samples were collected. The pathogen Z. tritici was quantified using qPCR. We provide the raw metabarcoding datasets, the Amplicon Sequence Variant (ASV) tables obtained after bioinformatic processing, the metadata associated to each sample (sampling date, wheat variety and tissue health condition), a preliminary descriptive analysis of the data, and the code used for bioinformatic and descriptive statistical analysis.

Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS): An Exciting Tool for Early and Accurate Diagnostic of Fungal Pathogens in Plants

“…One of the pioneering studies in fungal pathogen detection studies identified the microbiome of plants infected by Zymoseptoria tritici in wheat plants [51]. The result, obtained in this study using 450 leaf samples, shows significant differences in the microbiota of healthy tissue and infected tissue.…”

Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS): An Exciting Tool for Early and Accurate Diagnosing Plant Fungal Pathogens

“…One of the pioneering studies in fungal pathogenicity determination studies is the study aiming to determine the microbiome of plants infected by Zymoseptoria tritici fungus, one of the common diseases of wheat plants [36]. The result obtained in this study using 450 leaf samples shows significant differences between healthy tissue and infected tissue microbiota.…”

Divergent Outcomes of Direct Conspecific Pathogen Strain Interaction and Plant Co-Infection Suggest Consequences for Disease Dynamics

“…Z. tritici is a major fungal pathogen of wheat, causing the economically important foliar disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB) ( 28 ). The pathogen constitutes an important component of the microbiome associated with wheat plants ( 29 ). Z. tritici is thought to overwinter in the soil as spores or mycelium ( 30 ).…”