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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #426525
Research Project: Harnessing Multi-omics for Augmenting Seed Quality and Stress Tolerance in Barley

Location: Cereal Crops Research

Title: Microbial community succession and dynamics during the season-long development of apple fruit (Malus x domestica)

Author
item KITHAN-LUNDQUIST, ROSELANE - Michigan State University
item MCMILLAN, HANNAH - Duke University
item LIEBER, JULIAN - Duke University
item Maccready, Kristi
item SHENG, YANG-HE - Duke University School Of Medicine
item SUNDIN, GEORGE - Michigan State University

Submitted to: Microbiology Spectrum
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/11/2025
Publication Date: 2/23/2026
Citation: Kithan-Lundquist, R., Mcmillan, H.M., Lieber, J., Maccready, K.G., Sheng, Y., Sundin, G.W. 2026. Microbial community succession and dynamics during the season-long development of apple fruit (Malus x domestica). Microbiology Spectrum. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02836-25.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02836-25

Interpretive Summary: Plant-associated microbes are not well understood in specialty crop systems. This work describes the fungal and bacterial microbial communities colonizing the surface and interior of apple flowers and fruits over the course of one growing season. This work provides a foundational understanding of microbes present that will be used in future apple disease related research particularly on the development of organic or biologically-based pesticides.

Technical Abstract: The plant microbiota remains in constant contact with plants and represents a key determinant of plant health and productivity. These microorganisms exist as epiphytes on the surface of plant tissue and as endophytes within plants. The fruit tissue of plants, known as the carposphere, is a rich habitat for microbial life and harbors a distinct microbial community composition and diversity across tissue types such as the skin (epiphytes) and the pulp (endophytes). However, very little is known about the fruit microbiome and its role in disease resistance and fruit quality during fruit development and storage. The identification of a stable microbiota associated with tree fruit, and how that microbiota is established, will provide fundamental insights regarding engineering of a consortium of microbes that could thrive under various environmental stressors.