Session: Session 2 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)
P-359 - Metagenomic and culture-based analyses during cranberry fruit development reveals differences in mycobiome composition correlated with fruit rot development.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
13:30 - 15:15
Location: Confex Hall 3
Plant microbiota functions and intermicrobial interactions
Dr. University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Cranberry fruit rot (CFR) is the most economically significant disease affecting cranberry production, involving a complex of up to 15 fungal species. The multifaceted interactions within disease complexes make CFR an ideal system for exploring the role of the mycobiome in disease dynamics. We integrated culture-based and metagenomic analyses to characterize the cranberry mycobiome across five phenological stages (flowering, fruit set, ripening, mature healthy fruits, and rotten fruits) in six fields in Wisconsin. Culture-based analysis revealed a significant decline in fungal richness from fruit set to ripening, a trend consistent across fields and varieties, later confirmed by metagenomic sequencing. Surprisingly, CFR-associated fungi were absent during early fruit development, challenging the long-standing assumption that infection occurs primarily during flowering. Overall mycobiome composition remained consistent between healthy and rotten berries, with CFR-associated fungi dominating both; however, rotten berries exhibited significantly higher fungal loads. These findings suggest that CFR fungi can persist in berries without triggering disease, highlighting a critical knowledge gap in understanding pathogenic transitions. Our work underscores the role of the plant in shaping mycobiome diversity and the need to elucidate environmental or host-driven factors that activate CFR-associated fungi, providing new insights into disease management in perennial systems.
