Recently, interest in foods and specific food components with potential health benefits has surged. Berries from diverse botanical species represent a rich reservoir of bioactive compounds with profound implications for human health and nutrition. The production of natural products delivered from berries intensified as a promising new avenue for developing antimicrobial agents and prebiotics. Among the wide array of wild berries, lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.), rowanberries (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and rosehips (Rosa canina L.) are commonly found in Northern European forests and thrive in a moderately cold climate zone. These berries have gained recognition for their high content of bioactive compounds, including vitamins, particularly ascorbic acid, and have potential therapeutic properties. The consumption of unprocessed wild berries is relevant and encouraged, making their in-depth microbiological characterization essential for food safety.
This study presents the first high-throughput sequencing analysis of bacterial and fungal communities distributed on the surface of lingonberries, rowanberries and rosehips. Significant plant-defined differences in the taxonomic composition of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbiota were observed. The bacterial community on rosehips was shown to be prevalent by Enterobacteriaceae, lingonberries by Methylobacteriaceae and rowanberries by Sphingomonadaceae representatives. Among the fungal microbiota, Dothioraceae dominated on rosehips and Exobasidiaceae on lingonberries; meanwhile, rowanberries were inhabited by a similar level of a broad spectrum of fungal families. Cultivable yeast profiling revealed that lingonberries were distinguished by the lowest amount and most distinct yeast populations. Potentially pathogenic to humans or plants, as well as beneficial and relevant biocontrol microorganisms, were identified on tested berries. The combination of metagenomics and a cultivation-based approach highlighted the wild berries-associated microbial communities and contributed to uncovering their potential in plant health, food and human safety.
Read more: https://enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1758-2229.70048
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Lithuanian Research Council (LMTLT) (agreement S-PD-22-85).
The performed studies are in frame with research networking of COST Action MiCropBiomes CA22158.
