Investigation of Fungal Strains Composition in Fruit Pollens for Artificial Pollination

• Main Authors: Heeil Do, Su-Hyeon Kim, Gyeongjun Cho, Da-Ran Kim, Youn-Sig Kwak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-05-01
• Series: Mycobiology
• Subjects: fungal structure; imported pollen; microbial diversity; microbial ecology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12298093.2021.1893137

Plants pollination are conducted through various pollinators such as wind, animals, and insects. Recently, the necessity for artificial pollination is drawing attention as the proportion of natural pollinators involved is decreasing over the years. Likewise, the trade in pollen for artificial pollination is also increasing worldwide. Through these imported pollens, many unknown microorganisms can flow from foreign countries. Among them, spores of various fungi present in the particles of pollen can be dispersed throughout the orchard. Therefore, in this study, the composition of fungal communities in imported pollen was revealed, and potential ecological characteristics of the fungi were investigated in four types of imported pollen. Top 10 operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of fungi were ranked among the following groups: Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., and Didymella glomerata which belong to many pathogenic species. Through FUNGuild analysis, the proportion of OTUs, which is assumed to be potentially plant pathogens, was higher than 50%, except for apple pollen in 2018. Based on this study of fungal structure, this information can suggest the direction of the pollen quarantine process and contribute to fungal biology in pollen