Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest
Date palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) is considered to be a highly important food crop in several African and Middle Eastern countries due to its nutritional value and health-promoting properties. Microbial contamination of dates has been of concern to consumers, but very few works have...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/5/641 |
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| author | Edoardo Piombo Ahmed Abdelfattah Yaara Danino Shoshana Salim Oleg Feygenberg Davide Spadaro Michael Wisniewski Samir Droby |
| author_facet | Edoardo Piombo Ahmed Abdelfattah Yaara Danino Shoshana Salim Oleg Feygenberg Davide Spadaro Michael Wisniewski Samir Droby |
| author_sort | Edoardo Piombo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Date palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) is considered to be a highly important food crop in several African and Middle Eastern countries due to its nutritional value and health-promoting properties. Microbial contamination of dates has been of concern to consumers, but very few works have analyzed in detail the microbial load of the different parts of date fruit. In the present work, we characterized the fungal communities of date fruit using a metagenomic approach, analyzing the data for differences between microbial populations residing in the pulp and peel of “Medjool” dates at the different stages of fruit development. The results revealed that <i>Penicillium</i>, <i>Cladosporium</i>, <i>Aspergillus</i>, and <i>Alternaria</i> were the most abundant genera in both parts of the fruit, however, the distribution of taxa among the time points and tissue types (peel vs. pulp) was very diverse. <i>Penicillium</i> was more abundant in the pulp at the green developmental stage (Kimri), while <i>Aspergillus</i> was more frequent in the peel at the brown developmental stage (Tamer). The highest abundance of <i>Alternaria</i> was detected at the earliest sampled stage of fruit development (Hababauk stage). <i>Cladosporium</i> had a high level of abundance in peel tissues at the Hababauk and yellow (Khalal) stages. Regarding the yeast community, the abundance of <i>Candida</i> remained stable up until the Khalal stage, but exhibited a dramatic increase in abundance at the Tamer stage in peel tissues, while the level of <i>Metschnikowia</i>, a genus containing several species with postharvest biocontrol activity, exhibited no significant differences between the two tissue types or stages of fruit development. This work constitutes a comprehensive metagenomic analysis of the fungal microbiome of date fruits, and has identified changes in the composition of the fungal microbiome in peel and pulp tissues at the different stages of fruit development. Notably, this study has also characterized the endophytic fungal microbiome present in pulp tissues of dates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:11:01Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:11:01Z |
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| spelling | doaj.art-ff8cb8ac2dfc4647ae6af121da1e443d2023-11-19T22:57:33ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072020-04-018564110.3390/microorganisms8050641Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to HarvestEdoardo Piombo0Ahmed Abdelfattah1Yaara Danino2Shoshana Salim3Oleg Feygenberg4Davide Spadaro5Michael Wisniewski6Samir Droby7Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, ItalyInstitute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, 8010 Graz, AustriaDepartment of Postharvest Science, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 5020000, IsraelDepartment of Postharvest Science, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 5020000, IsraelDepartment of Postharvest Science, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 5020000, IsraelDepartment of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, 10095 Grugliasco, TO, ItalyU.S. Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Kearneysville, WV 25430, USADepartment of Postharvest Science, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan 5020000, IsraelDate palm (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) is considered to be a highly important food crop in several African and Middle Eastern countries due to its nutritional value and health-promoting properties. Microbial contamination of dates has been of concern to consumers, but very few works have analyzed in detail the microbial load of the different parts of date fruit. In the present work, we characterized the fungal communities of date fruit using a metagenomic approach, analyzing the data for differences between microbial populations residing in the pulp and peel of “Medjool” dates at the different stages of fruit development. The results revealed that <i>Penicillium</i>, <i>Cladosporium</i>, <i>Aspergillus</i>, and <i>Alternaria</i> were the most abundant genera in both parts of the fruit, however, the distribution of taxa among the time points and tissue types (peel vs. pulp) was very diverse. <i>Penicillium</i> was more abundant in the pulp at the green developmental stage (Kimri), while <i>Aspergillus</i> was more frequent in the peel at the brown developmental stage (Tamer). The highest abundance of <i>Alternaria</i> was detected at the earliest sampled stage of fruit development (Hababauk stage). <i>Cladosporium</i> had a high level of abundance in peel tissues at the Hababauk and yellow (Khalal) stages. Regarding the yeast community, the abundance of <i>Candida</i> remained stable up until the Khalal stage, but exhibited a dramatic increase in abundance at the Tamer stage in peel tissues, while the level of <i>Metschnikowia</i>, a genus containing several species with postharvest biocontrol activity, exhibited no significant differences between the two tissue types or stages of fruit development. This work constitutes a comprehensive metagenomic analysis of the fungal microbiome of date fruits, and has identified changes in the composition of the fungal microbiome in peel and pulp tissues at the different stages of fruit development. Notably, this study has also characterized the endophytic fungal microbiome present in pulp tissues of dates.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/5/641date<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>microbiomemetagenomeITSpost-harvest |
| spellingShingle | Edoardo Piombo Ahmed Abdelfattah Yaara Danino Shoshana Salim Oleg Feygenberg Davide Spadaro Michael Wisniewski Samir Droby Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest Microorganisms date <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> microbiome metagenome ITS post-harvest |
| title | Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest |
| title_full | Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest |
| title_fullStr | Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest |
| title_short | Characterizing the Fungal Microbiome in Date (<i>Phoenix dactylifera</i>) Fruit Pulp and Peel from Early Development to Harvest |
| title_sort | characterizing the fungal microbiome in date i phoenix dactylifera i fruit pulp and peel from early development to harvest |
| topic | date <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> microbiome metagenome ITS post-harvest |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/5/641 |
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