The Leaf Bacterial Microbiota of Female and Male Kiwifruit Plants in Distinct Seasons: Assessing the Impact of<i>Pseudomonas syringae</i>pv.<i>actinidiae</i>

The Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae pandemic has been compromising the production of kiwifruit industry in major producing countries. Abiotic factors and plant gender are known to influence disease outcome. To better understand their impact, we have determined diversity leaf bacterial communities using V5-V6 region 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon on Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. Healthy diseased female male plants were analyzed two consecutive seasons: spring autumn. This work describes whether season, gender, presence P. can affect community. Fifty operational taxonomic units identified assigned five phyla distributed by 14 different families 23 genera. leaves healthy kiwi share most populations, which undergo seasonal changes. In both cases, a substantial increase relative abundance genus Methylobacterium is observed induced profound changes community structures, translated into reduction previously dominant genera that had found plants; namely, Hymenobacter, Sphingomonas, Massilia spp. impact was less pronounced structure seasons. Some naturally occurring potential act as antagonists or enhancers defense mechanisms, paving way for environmentally friendly sustainable control.