Abstract
Bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi colonizing immature, mature and senescing primary leaves of field grown Beta vulgaris (sugar beet) were analysed over a complete growing season. Greatest microbial numbers were detected on senescing primary leaves and these numbers increased over most of the season. The number of colonizers detected on mature leaves was found to be stable over most of the study.
Filamentous fungi and yeasts were identified to the genus level and the communities found to have greatest diversity during the summer months. There was no consistent pattern of diversity according to leaf type. Two genera of filamentous fungi, Cladosporium and Alternaria and two yeast genera, Cryptococcus and Sporobolomyces were the most numerous fungal populations isolated. Only 8 filamentous fungi and 3 yeast genera were commonly isolated on PDA (potato dextrose agar).
Bacterial strains (1236) were isolated on Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) agar and identified to species, or in some cases sub-species level, by analysis of their fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles. Isolated bacteria were grouped into 78 named and 37 unnamed species clusters. Greatest number of bacterial species were isolated from young plants and leaves, sampled during the autumn months. Bacterial community diversity was lowest in mid-summer and winter months. Pseudomonas was the most commonly isolated genus and Erwinia herbicola the most common species. P. aureofaciens was the only species isolated from soil that was also isolated from the phyllosphere of B. vulgaris throughout the season.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andrews J H and Kenerley C M 1980 Microbial populations associated with buds and young leaves of apples. Can. J. Microbiol. 58, 847–855.
Austin B, Goodfellow M and Dickinson C H 1978 Numerical taxonomy of phylloplane bacteria isolated from Lolium perenne. J. Gen. Microbiol 104, 139–155.
Blakeman J P and Brodie I D S 1976 Inhibition of pathogens by epiphytic bacteria on aerial plant surfaces. In Microbiology of Aerial Plant Surfaces. Eds. C HDickinson and T FPreece. pp. 529–557. Academic Press, London.
Collins M D, Goodfellow M and Minnikin D E 1982 A survey of the structures of mycolic acids in Corynebacterium and related taxa. J. Gen. Microbiol. 129, 129–149.
Crosse J E 1959 Bacterial canker of stone-fruits. IV. Investigation of a method for measuring the inoculum potential of cherry trees. Ann. Appl. Biol. 47, 306–317.
Cullen D and Andrews J H 1984 Epiphytic microbes as biological control agents. In Plant-Microbe Interactions: Molecular and Genetic Perspective. Vol. 1. Eds. TKosuge and E WNester. pp 381–399. Macmillan. New York.
Curl E A and Truelove B 1986 The Rhizosphere. Eds. D R FBrommer, B RSabey, G WThomas, YVaadia, V DvanVleck. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. 288 p.
DeBoer S H and Sasser M 1986 Differentiation of Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora and E. carotovora ssp. atroseptica on the basis of cellular fatty acid composition. Can. J. Microbiol. 32, 796–800.
Dees S B, Powell J, Moss C V, Hollis D G and Weaver R E 1981 Cellular fatty acid composition of organisms frequently associated with human infections resulting from dog bites: Pasteurella mitocida and groups EF-4, Ilj, M-5 and DF-2. J. Clin. Microbiol. 14, 612–616.
Dickinson C H 1969 Fungal colonization of Pisium leaves, Can. J. Bot. 45, 915–927.
Dickinson C H, Austin B and Goodfellow M 1975 Quantitative and qualitative studies of phylloplane bacteria from Lolium perenne. J. Gen. Microbiol. 91, 157–166.
Dickinson C H 1976 Fungi on the aerial surfaces of higher plants. In Microbiology of Aerial Plant Surfaces. Eds. C HDickinson and T FPreece, pp 293–324. Academic Press London.
Dickinson C H and O'Donnell A 1977 Behaviour of phyllosphere fungi on Phaseolus leaves. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 68, 193–199.
Dickinson C H 1982 The phylloplane and other aerial plant surfaces. In Experimental Microbial Ecology. Eds. R CBurns and J HSlater. pp 412–430. Blackwell Scientific Press. Oxford.
Dickinson C H 1986 Adaptation of microorganisms to climatic conditions affecting aerial plant surfaces. In Microbiology of the Phyllosphere. Eds. N JFokkema and van denHeuvel. pp 77–100. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Donegan K, Matyac C, Seidler R and Porteous A 1991 Evaluation of methods for sampling, recovery and enumeration of bacteria applied to the phylloplane. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 57, 51–56.
Durrell L W 1968 Studies of Aureobasidium pullans (De-Bary) Arnaud. Mycopath. et Mycologia Applicata 35, 113–120.
Ercolani G L 1978 Pseudomonas savastanoi and other bacteria colonizing the surface of olive leaves in the field. J. Gen. Microbiol. 109, 245–257.
Ercolani G L 1991 Distribution of epiphytic bacteria on olive leaves and the influence of leaf age and sampling time. Microbiol. Ecol. 21, 35–48.
Goodfellow M 1969 Properties and composition of the bacterial flora of a pine forest soil. J. Gen. Microbiol. 109, 245–257.
Goodfellow M, Austin B and Dickinson C H 1976 Numerical taxonomy of some yellow-pigmented bacteria isolated from plants. J. Gen. Microbiol. 97, 219–233.
Gower J C 1966 Some distance properties of latent root and vector methods used in multivariate analysis. Biometri. 53, 325–338.
Hirano S S and Upper C D 1986 Temporal, spatial and genetic variability of leaf associated bacterial populations. In Microbiology of the Phyllosphere. Eds. N JFokkema and Jvan denHeuvel. pp 235–251. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
Hudson H J 1971 The development of the saprophytic fungal flora as leaves senesce and fall. In Ecology and Leaf Surface Microorganisms. Eds. T FPreece and C HDickinson. pp 447–455. Academic Press, London.
Kerling L C P 1958 De microflora op het blad van Beta vulgaris L. Tijdschr. Plantenziekten 64, 402–410.
Lamb R J and Brown J F 1970 Non-parasitic microflora on leaf surfaces of Paspalum dilatatum, Salix babylonica and Eucalyptus stellulata. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 55, 383–390.
Lambert B, Meire P, Joos H, Lens P and Swings J C 1990 Fast-growing, aerobic, heterotrophic bacteria from the rhizosphere of young sugar beet plants. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56, 3375–3381.
Last F T and Deighton F C 1965 The non-parasitic microflora on the surface of living leaves. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 48, 83–99.
Last F T and Warren F C 1965 Non-parasitic microflora colonizing green leaves; their form and functions. Endeavour 31, 143–150.
Lindemann J H A, Constantinidou H A, Barchet W R and Upper C D 1982 Plants as sources of airborne bacteria, including ice nucleation-active bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 44, 1059–1063.
Lindow S E, Arny D C and Upper C D 1978 Erwinia herbicola: A bacterial ice nucleus active in increasing frost injury to corn. Phytopathology 68, 523–527.
Lowe W E and Gray T R G 1972 Ecological studies on coccoidal bacteria in alpine forest soil. I. Classification. Soil Biol. Biochem. 4, 459–467.
McBride R P and Hayes A 1977 Phylloplane of European larch. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 58, 329–331.
Mew T W and Kennedy B W 1982 Seasonal variation in populations of pathogenic pseudomonads on soybean leaves. Phytopathology 72, 103–105.
Miller L 1984 Gas liquid chromatography of cellular fatty acids as a bacterial identification aid. Hewlett Packard Application Note 228, 37.
Minnikin D E and Goodfellow M 1980 Lipid composition in the classification and identification of acid fast bacteria. In Microbiological Classification and Identification. Eds. MGoodfellow and R GBoard, pp 189–256. Academic Press, London.
Mukwaya G M and Welch D F 1989 Subgroupings of Pseudomonas cepacia by cellular fatty aid composition. J. Clin. Microbiol. 27, 2640–2646.
Pugh G J F and Buckley N G 1971 Aureobasidium pullans: An endophyte in sycamore and other trees. Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 57, 227–231.
Simpson K L, Chichester C O and Phaff H J 1971 Carotenoid pigments of yeast. In The Yeasts II. Eds. A HRose and J SHarrison. pp 493–515. Academic Press, London.
Starr M P 1981 The genus Erwinia. In The Prokaryotes: A Handbook on Habitats, Isolation and Identification of Bacteria. Eds. M PStarr, H GTruper, ABalows and H GSchege. pp 1260–1271. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Stead D E 1988 Identification of bacteria by computer-assisted fatty acid profiling. Acta Horticult. 225, 39–46.
Stout J D 1960 Biological studies of some tussock grassland soils. XV. Bacteria of two cultivated soils. N. Z. J. Agric. Res. 3, 214.
Thompson I P, Bailey M J, Ellis R J and Purdy K J 1993 Subgrouping of bacterial populations by cellular fatty acid composition FEMS Microbiology Ecology 102, 75–84.
VanOutrye M F, Gossele F, Kersters K and Swings J 1989 The composition of the rhizosphere of chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum Heigi). Can. J. Microbiol. 34, 1203–1208.
Waid J S 1960 The growth of fungi in soil. In Ecology of Soil. Eds DParkinson and J SWaid. pp 55–75. Liverpool University Press, Liverpool.
Wildman H G and Parkinson D 1979 Microfungal succession on living leaves of living leaves of Populus tremuloides. Can. J. Microbiol 57, 2800–2811.
Wimalajeewa D L S 1987 Seasonal variations in susceptibility of apricot to Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (bacterial canker) and sites of infection in apricot and cherry. Aus. J. Exp. Agri 127, 475–479.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, I.P., Bailey, M.J., Fenlon, J.S. et al. Quantitative and qualitative seasonal changes in the microbial community from the phyllosphere of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris). Plant Soil 150, 177–191 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013015
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00013015