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A group of environmentalists set out to explore the “central microbiome” of coffee to find signs of microbes that could lead to a better understanding of how the plant reacts to changing weather conditions.
For most people, coffee is a necessary start to the day. For three Toronto-based scientists, coffee is a good research topic in a world with a changing climate.
Scientists from the American Phytopathological Society scanned the tissues of coffee roots for signs of a “central microbiome” or signs of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, that form associations with the coffee plant.
The existence of consistent microbes within a given plant microbiome is said to be highly indicative of beneficial relationships, and a better understanding could be helpful in determining best management practices and predicting coffee responses to changing conditions, the scientists explained.
The ecologists used next-generation sequencing methods on samples from various Central American farms that differed dramatically in environmental conditions and management systems. They discovered 26 bacterial and 31 fungal species that met their criteria for belonging to the central microbiome. Some of these species are known to have beneficial properties for plants and should be investigated in more detail, they suggested.
“The bacterial core microbiome is much stronger and more consistent, while the fungal microbiome is more sensitive to environmental conditions that are expected to expand in range with climate change,” said Roberta Fulthorpe, one of the scientists behind the investigation. “We also found that the fungi appear to be related to the characteristics of the coffee root, while the bacteria are not.”
Team member Adam Martin said: “The same species occurs in a wide range of temperatures, rainfall, soil conditions, and light availability, and is new evidence of a central microbiome that actually exists in real-world conditions.
“Our results open the door to understanding whether or how microbiomes can be managed in real-world culture systems. Our work also leads to interesting questions about whether the taste of our morning cup of coffee is influenced by the plant’s microbes. “
