Krishnan Sakthivel, Krishnappa Charishma, Sheoran Neelam, Reddy Bhaskar, Kumar Aundy
Crop Protection Section, ICAR-Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, 500030, India.
Division of Plant Pathology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India.
Curr Microbiol. 2025 Jul 21;82(9):399. doi: 10.1007/s00284-025-04383-y.
Sesame phyllody disease poses a serious threat to sesame cultivation, often leading to complete crop failure due to the absence of resistant varieties and lack of effective chemical treatments. To explore sustainable alternatives, this study investigated the foliar microbiome by comparing microbial communities in healthy and phyllody-infected sesame plants from severely affected fields. Through combined culture-based techniques and DNA sequencing, we identified 3108 bacterial OTUs spanning several key genera, including Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Allorhizobium, and Xanthomonas. Phytoplasma, the known causal agent, was detected exclusively in symptomatic plants. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed distinct microbial associations: healthy plants showed balanced interactions with Pantoea, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas as central hubs, whereas infected plants exhibited a denser, more complex network, indicating phytoplasma-driven shifts in microbial structure. From culturable isolates, 72 bacterial strains were recovered, with Pantoea being predominant in both plant types. Functional predictions highlighted microbial association with nutrient metabolism and biosynthesis of alpha-linolenic acid, a naturally abundant compound in sesame. This first study of the sesame foliar microbiome provides valuable insights into plant-microbiome-phytoplasma interactions and lays a foundation for developing microbiome-based, eco-friendly strategies to manage sesame phyllody disease in the future.
芝麻丛枝病对芝麻种植构成严重威胁，由于缺乏抗性品种和有效的化学防治方法，常常导致作物完全绝收。为探索可持续的替代方法，本研究通过比较来自严重受灾田地的健康芝麻植株和感染丛枝病的芝麻植株的微生物群落，对叶片微生物组进行了调查。通过结合基于培养的技术和DNA测序，我们鉴定出3108个细菌操作分类单元，涵盖几个关键属，包括泛菌属、假单胞菌属、异根瘤菌属和黄单胞菌属。已知的致病因子植原体仅在有症状的植株中检测到。共现网络分析揭示了不同的微生物关联：健康植株与作为中心枢纽的泛菌属、假单胞菌属和鞘氨醇单胞菌属表现出平衡的相互作用，而感染植株则表现出更密集、更复杂的网络，表明植原体驱动了微生物结构的变化。从可培养的分离物中，回收了72株细菌菌株，泛菌属在两种植株类型中均占主导地位。功能预测突出了微生物与营养代谢以及芝麻中天然丰富的化合物α-亚麻酸生物合成的关联。这项对芝麻叶片微生物组的首次研究为植物-微生物组-植原体相互作用提供了有价值的见解，并为未来开发基于微生物组的、生态友好的策略来管理芝麻丛枝病奠定了基础。
