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Fruit and Vegetable microbiomes and their important interactions for global food production

from pixabay -Jasmine Lin © from pixabay -Jasmine LinThe UN General Assembly has selected 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV), emphasizing the important roles that foods play in nutrition, health, and sustainability.

The availability and quality of fruit and vegetables is impacted by interactions with microbes throughout their life cycle. From their early development stages; through propagation and growth; food processing procedures- such as fermentation; potential food spoilage; to finally when they end up on our plates; and even afterwards in our guts and during digestion, fruit and vegetables are massively altered by their interactions with microorganisms. 

Whether these microbial lifeforms help produce food or blight, there is no denying the impact they play. This collection of articles and reviews examine the close relationship between fresh produce and their associated microbial communities.

We invite research and review papers in this new cross-journal collection. Submissions are welcomed to either Environmental Microbiome or Annals of Microbiology.

Articles will undergo the standard peer-review process of the journal they are considered in Environmental Microbiome, Annals of Microbiology and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

This collection is now closed to further submissions.



  2. This study was purposely designed to understand the effects of intercropping banana and sweet potato on soil microbial community. The research question addressed was what were the differences in population num...

    Authors: Yanpei Li, Jiaqi Lin, Shixiang Xiao, Dou Feng, Yingyi Deng and Weiyan Xuan
    Citation: Annals of Microbiology 2023 72:46
    Content type: Original Article Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Annals of Microbiology 2023 73:25

  3. Continuous monoculture leads to deterioration of soil microenvironment, which can severely threat the quality and efficiency of Angelica sinensis (A. sinensis), especially for seedlings production. However, littl...

    Authors: Xiaofang Gong, Ying Zhu, Yinan Peng, Zengxiang Guo, Jianping Zhou, Hui Yang and Zhiye Wang
    Citation: Annals of Microbiology 2022 72:34
    Content type: Original Article Published on:

  4. Bananas (Musa spp.) are a globally significant crop and are severely afflicted by diseases for which there are no effective chemical controls. Banana microbiomes may provide novel solutions to these constraints b...

    Authors: Henry W. G. Birt, Anthony B. Pattison, Adam Skarshewski, Jeff Daniells, Anil Raghavendra and Paul G. Dennis
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2022 17:46
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Microbiome assembly was identified as an important factor for plant growth and health, but this process is largely unknown, especially for the fruit microbiome. Therefore, we analyzed strawberry plants of two ...

    Authors: Expedito Olimi, Peter Kusstatscher, Wisnu Adi Wicaksono, Ahmed Abdelfattah, Tomislav Cernava and Gabriele Berg
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2022 17:21
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. The current study aimed to optimize the culture and production parameters of industrial production of lincomycin A by Streptomyces lincolnensis using a statistical approach that could also reduce unwanted by-prod...

    Authors: Xiu-hong Zheng, Rui-fang Ye, Qi-hang Ding, Feng-xian Hu, Hong-zhou Zhang and Shen Lai
    Citation: Annals of Microbiology 2022 72:16
    Content type: Original Article Published on:

  7. A detailed understanding of antimicrobial resistance trends among all human-related environments is key to combat global health threats. In food science, however, the resistome is still little considered. Here...

    Authors: Birgit Wassermann, Ahmed Abdelfattah, Henry Müller, Lise Korsten and Gabriele Berg
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2022 17:10
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. Lettuce is linked to recurrent outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections, the seasonality of which remains unresolved. Infections have occurred largely from processed lettuce, which un...

    Authors: Susan R. Leonard, Ivan Simko, Mark K. Mammel, Taylor K. S. Richter and Maria T. Brandl
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2021 16:25
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. Cucumber fermentation is traditionally done using lactic acid bacteria. The involvement of probiotic cultures in food fermentation guarantees enhanced organoleptic properties and protects food from spoilage.

    Authors: Sadia Ahmed, Fatima Ashraf, Muhammad Tariq and Arsalan Zaidi
    Citation: Annals of Microbiology 2021 71:33
    Content type: Original Article Published on:

  10. Fermented soybean foods (FSF) is popularly consumed in the South-East Asian countries. Bacillus species, a predominant microorganism present in these foods, have demonstrated beneficial and deleterious impacts on...

    Authors: Trishala Gopikrishna, Harini Keerthana Suresh Kumar, Kumar Perumal and Elavarashi Elangovan
    Citation: Annals of Microbiology 2021 71:30
    Content type: Review Article Published on:

  11. Bacillus subtilis strains have been widely studied for their numerous benefits in agriculture, including viticulture. Providing several assets, B. subtilis spp. are described as promising plant-protectors against...

    Authors: Catarina Leal, Florence Fontaine, Aziz Aziz, Conceiçao Egas, Christophe Clément and Patricia Trotel-Aziz
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2021 16:3
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. Stable soil aggregates are essential for optimal crop growth and preventing soil erosion. However, tillage is often used in agriculture to loosen the soil, which disrupts the integrity of these aggregates. Soi...

    Authors: Barbara Cania, Gisle Vestergaard, Maike Krauss, Andreas Fliessbach, Michael Schloter and Stefanie Schulz
    Citation: Environmental Microbiome 2019 14:1
    Content type: Research article Published on: