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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Horticultural Crop Microbiomes
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Horticultural Crop Microbiomes

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Protected Culture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 17809

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shirley A. Micallef

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Interests: enteric pathogens on plants; microbiomes of fruit and vegetable crops; plant microbiome shifts; Salmonella; phyllosphere; rhizosphere; plant surface metabolites; antimicrobial resistance; cropping practices; plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
Dr. Sarah M. Allard

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA
Interests: enteric pathogens on plants; microbiomes of fruit and vegetable crops; plant microbiome shifts; phyllosphere; rhizosphere; cropping practices; irrigation water quality; reclaimed wastewater, food safety; water microbiomes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants develop close associations with microorganisms, both above and below ground, which are essential for the health and fitness of the host. In nature, plants and their associated microbial communities can collectively be considered as interacting metaorganisms or holobionts: An association of a macroscopic host and a diverse microbiome consisting of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and protists, within which the microbes usually outnumber host cells. The structure of the plant microbiome is determined by biotic and abiotic factors, and it reflects high plant specificity, even at the ecotype or, in agriculture, the cultivar level. Co-evolution has resulted in intimate plant-microbe relationships that create specific and stable microbiomes. In horticulture, crop microbiomes are further influenced by agricultural practices. Understanding horticultural crop microbiomes can lead to strategies that optimize crop productivity, resource use efficiency and stress mitigation. In this respect, crop-microbe interactions are a key for understanding plant growth and health, to ensure food security, safety and more sustainable crop production.

This Special Issue aims to highlight current knowledge and advances in the broad field of horticultural crop microbiome research based on state-of-the-art technologies. We encourage the submission of high-quality research and review articles addressing in-depth analyses of diversity, structure, specificity, role and drivers of all horticultural crop-associated microbial communities.

Dr. Shirley A. Micallef
Dr. Sarah M. Allard
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microbiome shifts
  • plant-microbiome interactions
  • food safety
  • biocontrol
  • cropping practices
  • fruit microbiomes
  • vegetable microbiomes
  • microbiomes of ornamental plants
  • microbiomes of medicinal plants
  • function of plant microbiomes

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 617 KiB  
Article
Does Inoculation with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Reduce Trunk Disease in Grapevine Rootstocks?
by Taylor Holland, Patricia Bowen, Vasilis Kokkoris, Jose Ramon Urbez-Torres and Miranda Hart
Horticulturae 2019, 5(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5030061 - 28 Aug 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4505
Abstract
Ilyonectria is a weak pathogen known for causing black foot disease in young vines, infecting roots and vascular tissues at the basal end of the rootstock and restricting the movement of water and nutrients. This negatively impacts vine establishment during transplant into the [...] Read more.
Ilyonectria is a weak pathogen known for causing black foot disease in young vines, infecting roots and vascular tissues at the basal end of the rootstock and restricting the movement of water and nutrients. This negatively impacts vine establishment during transplant into the vineyard. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are symbiotic fungi that associate with most plants and have been shown to mitigate the infection and effect of pathogens. This greenhouse study was designed to determine if the mycorrhizal fungi could mitigate Ilyonectria infection and whether this was dependent on inoculation timing. ‘Riparia gloire’ grapevine rootstocks (Vitis riparia) were infected with Ilyonectria either after AM fungi, at the same time as AM fungi, or to roots that were not inoculated by AM fungi. We measured the abundance using specific markers for both the pathogen and AM fungi. Colonization by AM fungi did not suppress Ilyonectria, but instead increased the abundance of Ilyonectria. Further, mycorrhizal rootstocks did not have enhanced growth effects on physiological parameters when compared to non-mycorrhizal rootstocks. These findings stand in contrast to the general perception that AM fungi provide protection against root pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Microbiomes)
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13 pages, 2079 KiB  
Article
Changes in Acetylene Reduction Activities and nifH Genes Associated with Field-Grown Sweet Potatoes with Different Nursery Farmers and Cultivars
by Kazuhito Itoh, Keisuke Ohashi, Nao Yakai, Fumihiko Adachi and Shohei Hayashi
Horticulturae 2019, 5(3), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5030053 - 27 Jul 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3337
Abstract
Sweet potato cultivars obtained from different nursery farmers were cultivated in an experimental field from seedling-stage to harvest, and the acetylene reduction activity (ARA) of different parts of the plant as well as the nifH genes associated with the sweet potatoes were examined. [...] Read more.
Sweet potato cultivars obtained from different nursery farmers were cultivated in an experimental field from seedling-stage to harvest, and the acetylene reduction activity (ARA) of different parts of the plant as well as the nifH genes associated with the sweet potatoes were examined. The relationship between these parameters and the plant weights, nitrogen contents, and natural abundance of 15N was also considered. The highest ARA was detected in the tubers and in September. Fragments of a single type of nitrogenase reductase gene (nifH) were amplified, and most of them had similarities with those of Enterobacteriaceae in γ-Proteobacteria. In sweet potatoes from one nursery farm, Dickeya nifH was predominantly detected in all of the cultivars throughout cultivation. In sweet potatoes from another farm, on the other hand, a transition to Klebsiella and Phytobacter nifH was observed after the seedling stage. The N2-fixing ability contributed to plant growth, and competition occurred between autochthonous and allochthonous bacterial communities in sweet potatoes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Microbiomes)
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9 pages, 1497 KiB  
Article
Effects of Co-Inoculation of Indole-3-Acetic Acid-Producing and -Degrading Bacterial Endophytes on Plant Growth
by Sabitri Adhikari Dhungana and Kazuhito Itoh
Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5010017 - 06 Feb 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4503
Abstract
Bacterial production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and its effects on plant growth have been frequently studied but there have been few studies on the ecology of IAA-degrading bacteria. In this study, among eight endophytic bacterial strains previously isolated from the same sweet potato [...] Read more.
Bacterial production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and its effects on plant growth have been frequently studied but there have been few studies on the ecology of IAA-degrading bacteria. In this study, among eight endophytic bacterial strains previously isolated from the same sweet potato sample including two IAA producers, Klebsiella sp. Sal 1 and Enterobacter sp. Sal 3, all of the strains showed IAA-degrading ability to some extent. Herbaspirillum sp. Sal 6 had the highest activity for IAA and tryptophan. When the IAA producers and the degrader were co-cultured in tryptophan-amended N+MR liquid medium, the concentrations of IAA decreased. Inoculation with Klebsiella sp. Sal 1, the highest IAA producer among the test strains, increased fresh root weight of tomato and radish, but the effect decreased by co-inoculation with IAA-degrading Herbaspirillum sp. Sal 6. Since both strains colonized plant parts at high populations, it was likely that the IAA degrader decreased IAA levels in the plants by degrading IAA and/or its precursor tryptophan. When IAA-producing biofertilizers are used, interactions with IAA degraders in plants should be considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Microbiomes)
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11 pages, 2842 KiB  
Article
Plant Growth Promoting Effects of Nepalese Sweet Potato Endophytes
by Sabitri Adhikari Dhungana, Fumihiko Adachi, Shohei Hayashi, Ramesh Raj Puri and Kazuhito Itoh
Horticulturae 2018, 4(4), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae4040053 - 06 Dec 2018
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4971
Abstract
Endophytic bacteria form a symbiotic relation with plants and generally cause no harmful effects to the host plants. In a previous study, we isolated eight bacterial endophytes from sweet potato plants harvested in Salyan, Nepal. These endophytes showed plant growth-promoting properties as a [...] Read more.
Endophytic bacteria form a symbiotic relation with plants and generally cause no harmful effects to the host plants. In a previous study, we isolated eight bacterial endophytes from sweet potato plants harvested in Salyan, Nepal. These endophytes showed plant growth-promoting properties as a mixed culture. In this study, we evaluated the ability of these strains to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and to fix nitrogen. Based on these results, we selected two strains, Klebsiella sp. Sal 1 and Enterobacter sp. Sal 3, and evaluated their ability to promote plant growth. IAA production activity peaked at 15–60 mg NH4NO3/L in plant-free medium. Similarly, acetylene reduction activity peaked at 0–6.25 mg NH4NO3/L. Both strains successfully colonized plants, promoted the growth of tomatoes, and induced phenotypes in plants consistent with IAA exposure. This suggests that these strains promote plant growth by producing IAA inside the plant, where nitrogen levels are expected to be low. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Horticultural Crop Microbiomes)
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