Integrated analyses of the plant and soil microbiome identify Phytopythium vexans as agent of the Kiwifruit Vine Decline Syndrome

Saveria Mosca, Miya Aci, Giuseppina Procopio, Vittoria Vadalà, Giusy Vizzari, Edda Francomano, Nesma Zakaria Mohamed, Maria Giulia Li Destri Nicosia, Giovanni Enrico Agosteo, Davide Spadaro, Leonardo Schena, Antonino Malacrinò

August 2024

Abstract

The Kiwifruit Vine Decline Syndrome (KVDS) is a disease that is currently a challenge for kiwifruit production in Italy, and it is spreading in new production areas. However, the causal agent of this syndrome has not been clearly identified, and we still know little about the overall effects of KVDS on the interactions between the host plant and its microbiome. In this study, we combined metabarcoding and targeted isolation (leaf baiting) to characterize the changes in the rhizosphere and root microbiomes associated with symptoms of KVDS. Our results suggest that KVDS has little impact on the bacterial, fungal, and oomycete communities associated with soil and roots, and we detected weak signatures of potential dysbiosis. On the other hand, we found a consistent association of the oomycete Phytopythium vexans with samples from plants symptomatic to KVDS, which matches the nucleotide sequences of the isolates obtained through baiting and, partially, the isolates from previous studies. While our results support the idea that P. vexans might be the major candidate agent of KVDS, there are still several unanswered questions that need to be addressed before being able to provide effective solutions to this emerging challenge in kiwifruit production.

Type

Journal article

Publication

Plant and Soil

Source Themes