Previously unknown world of life found on common apple blossom

Research in the News: Previously unknown world of life found on common apple blossom
Credit: Ashley Shade, courtesy of Yale University

A succession of distinct but surprising microbial communities populate apple blossoms during the flowers' life cycle, suggesting that the bacteria have a carefully regulated relationship with the common fruit tree, say Yale scientists.

University researchers have pinpointed for the first time the identity of some of these microbes, including a form of bacteria previously known to exist in the human mouth and ocean.

"The dogma had been that the bacterial populations on these plants were the product of random environmental events, but when we took a closer we found that just isn't true; we see an orderly transition of specific groups of microorganisms, " said Jo Handelsman, professor of molecular, cellular and and senior author of the study.

The next step is to explore whether these populations interact with the to drive their development. "The microbiome in humans drives our health more than we ever anticipated," she said.

More information: mbio.asm.org/content/4/2/e00602-12

Provided by Yale University

Citation: Previously unknown world of life found on common apple blossom (2013, February 27) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2013-02-previously-unknown-world-life-common.html
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