Microbial communities and key strains associated to banana spoilages through cultural plating and metagenomic analysis

Abstract

This research investigated microbial communities associated to bananas spoilage by cultural plating and metagenomic analysis. Bananas were collected from three different sources including exported farm, domestic organic farm and marketed bananas. Bacteria and fungi on fresh through spoiled banana surfaces were determined. It was found that microbial communities observed from both methods were significantly different. Microbial communities on fresh and spoiled bananas observed from each method were relatively different. From cultural plating, bacteria observed on almost fresh bananas and spoilage, from export, domestic farms and wholesale fruits market, was Enterobacter ludwigii. Fungus, Penicillium citrinum was mainly observed from all fresh and spoiled bananas from marketed fruits. Aspergillus inflatus was mainly observed on spoiled bananas collected from export farm but was not found in domestic farm and marketed fruits. From metagenomics analysis, the most abundant bacteria on fresh and spoiled banana surface was Enterobacteriacae and Pantoea, respctively. Moesziomyces made up the largest division in both fresh and spoiled bananas. Information obtained also demonstrated that geographical factors had less impact on microbial flora associated to fruit spoilage. There was no specific microbial community pattern observed on banana collected from farms. Similar microbial profiles associated to the spoilage of banana collected form market were observed. Thus, data obtained could reinforce the importance of analytical methods for studies on the microbial ecology of banana and highlight the need for more detailed examination of this variable and its importance in post-harvest management.