The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube
Evidence from an increasing number of studies indicates that plant endophytic microorganisms play a significant role during biotic and abiotic stress resistance. To date, however, only a handful of studies on endophytes in response to the presence of phytoplasmas have been conducted. The production...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Nian Wang Mengli Wang Ziming Jiang Wenzhe Zhang Ziyang You Xueru Zhao Jia Yao Chenrui Gong Assunta Bertaccini Jidong Li |
| author_facet | Nian Wang Mengli Wang Ziming Jiang Wenzhe Zhang Ziyang You Xueru Zhao Jia Yao Chenrui Gong Assunta Bertaccini Jidong Li |
| author_sort | Nian Wang |
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| description | Evidence from an increasing number of studies indicates that plant endophytic microorganisms play a significant role during biotic and abiotic stress resistance. To date, however, only a handful of studies on endophytes in response to the presence of phytoplasmas have been conducted. The production of jujube (<i>Ziziphus jujuba</i>) is threatened by jujube witches’ broom (JWB) disease, which is associated with the presence of the JWB phytoplasma ‘<i>Candidatus</i> Phytoplasma ziziphi’. To investigate the impact of jujube witches’ broom phytoplasma on the endophyte populations in jujube, high-throughput sequencing was performed in healthy and JWB-infected orchard jujube trees and <i>in vitro</i> jujube shoots. The results showed that the presence of JWB phytoplasma in jujube altered the abundance, diversity, and community structure of endophytic bacteria and fungi. In the branches and the roots, the presence of JWB phytoplasma was associated with an increase in the richness of the endophytic communities and a decrease in their diversity, with the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota and the genus ‘<i>Ca</i>. Phytoplasma’ becoming the most abundant. The presence of phytoplasmas was also associated with the remodeling of the endophytic microorganisms’ interaction network, shifting to a simpler biodiversity state. These results demonstrate the response of the jujube endophytic community to the presence of JWB phytoplasmas and shed light on the possible antagonistic agents that could be further evaluated for JWB disease biocontrol. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea5df7596ef5476bb066dcb73f9d19db |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea5df7596ef5476bb066dcb73f9d19db2025-08-20T03:27:25ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-06-01136137110.3390/microorganisms13061371The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in JujubeNian Wang0Mengli Wang1Ziming Jiang2Wenzhe Zhang3Ziyang You4Xueru Zhao5Jia Yao6Chenrui Gong7Assunta Bertaccini8Jidong Li9College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaDepartment of Agriculture and Food Science, <i>Alma Mater Studiorum</i>-University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaEvidence from an increasing number of studies indicates that plant endophytic microorganisms play a significant role during biotic and abiotic stress resistance. To date, however, only a handful of studies on endophytes in response to the presence of phytoplasmas have been conducted. The production of jujube (<i>Ziziphus jujuba</i>) is threatened by jujube witches’ broom (JWB) disease, which is associated with the presence of the JWB phytoplasma ‘<i>Candidatus</i> Phytoplasma ziziphi’. To investigate the impact of jujube witches’ broom phytoplasma on the endophyte populations in jujube, high-throughput sequencing was performed in healthy and JWB-infected orchard jujube trees and <i>in vitro</i> jujube shoots. The results showed that the presence of JWB phytoplasma in jujube altered the abundance, diversity, and community structure of endophytic bacteria and fungi. In the branches and the roots, the presence of JWB phytoplasma was associated with an increase in the richness of the endophytic communities and a decrease in their diversity, with the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota and the genus ‘<i>Ca</i>. Phytoplasma’ becoming the most abundant. The presence of phytoplasmas was also associated with the remodeling of the endophytic microorganisms’ interaction network, shifting to a simpler biodiversity state. These results demonstrate the response of the jujube endophytic community to the presence of JWB phytoplasmas and shed light on the possible antagonistic agents that could be further evaluated for JWB disease biocontrol.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1371biological controlhigh-throughput sequencingmicrobial diversityplant disease |
| spellingShingle | Nian Wang Mengli Wang Ziming Jiang Wenzhe Zhang Ziyang You Xueru Zhao Jia Yao Chenrui Gong Assunta Bertaccini Jidong Li The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube Microorganisms biological control high-throughput sequencing microbial diversity plant disease |
| title | The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube |
| title_full | The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube |
| title_short | The Impact of Jujube Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma on the Community Structure of Endophytes in Jujube |
| title_sort | impact of jujube witches broom phytoplasma on the community structure of endophytes in jujube |
| topic | biological control high-throughput sequencing microbial diversity plant disease |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1371 |
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