Unlocking the bacterial and fungal communities assemblages of sugarcane microbiome

Abstract

Plant microbiome and its manipulation herald a new era for plant biotechnology with the potential to benefit sustainable crop production. However, studies evaluating the diversity, structure and impact of the microbiota in economic important crops are still rare. Here we describe a comprehensive inventory of the structure and assemblage of the bacterial and fungal communities associated with sugarcane. Our analysis identified 23,811 bacterial OTUs and an unexpected 11,727 fungal OTUs inhabiting the endophytic and exophytic compartments of roots, shoots, and leaves. These communities originate primarily from native soil around plants and colonize plant organs in distinct patterns. The sample type is the primary driver of fungal community assemblage, and the organ compartment plays a major role in bacterial community assemblage. We identified core bacterial and fungal communities composed of less than 20% of the total microbial richness but accounting for over 90% of the total microbial relative abundance. The roots showed 89 core bacterial families, 19 of which accounted for 44% of the total relative abundance. Stalks are dominated by groups of yeasts that represent over 12% of total relative abundance. The core microbiome described here comprise groups whose biological role underlies important traits in plant growth and fermentative processes.

Root type and soil phosphate determine the taxonomic landscape of colonizing fungi and the transcriptome of field‐grown maize roots

“…We found differences in the fungal communities between root systems and bulk‐soil, confirming that roots provide a selective environment for microbes (Bulgarelli et al ., ; De Souza et al ., ). Strikingly, more than half of the OTUs identified inside maize roots were specific for one or the other root type (Fig.…”

“…This demonstrates that maize root types influence the endophytic fungal community in a realistic field situation. Differences in bacterial and fungal communities between roots and leaves and/or stalks have been described previously for Arabidopsis and sugar cane (Bai et al ., ; De Souza et al ., ). We show that fungal communities diverge even among different parts of the same plant organ (the root system).…”

Ethanol production in Brazil: a bridge between science and industry

“…Although contaminants can enter the process through different ways, sugarcane is the major source and new strategies based on non-cultural techniques have been applied to access microbial communities that can affect industrial processes of bioethanol production 79, 80. Besides wild yeasts, bacteria compete for sugars and nutrients with starter yeast strains causing many problems, such as inhibition of fermentation, production of organic acids, reduction of industrial yields and flocculation 81, 82, 83…”

Quantification of the Composition Dynamics of a Maize Root-associated Simplified Bacterial Community and Evaluation of Its Biological Control Effect

“…These microbes exploit the niches provided by plant hosts and form complex microbial communities (Bulgarelli et al. , 2012; Ofek-Lalzar et al , 2014; Cardinale et al , 2015; Edwards et al , 2015; Beckers et al , 2016; de Souza et al , 2016; Niu et al , 2017). Such plant-associated microbiomes are able to affect the development and health of the hosts profoundly (Berendsen et al , 2012).…”