Analysis of endophytic bacterial flora of mulberry cultivars susceptible and resistant to bacterial wilt using metagenomic sequencing and culture-dependent approach.

Endophytes have a wide range of potential in maintaining plant health and sustainable agricultural environmental conditions. In this study, we analysed the diversity of endophytic bacteria in four mulberry cultivars with different resistance capacity against bacterial wilt using metagenomic sequencing and culture-dependent approaches. We further assessed the role of 11 shared genera in the control of bacterial wilt of mulberry. The results of the present study showed that Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria were the three dominant phyla in all communities, with the representative genera Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas. The diversity analysis showed that the communities of the highly and moderately resistant varieties were more diverse compared to those of the weakly resistant and susceptible varieties. The control tests of mulberry bacterial wilt showed that Pantoea, Atlantibacter, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter were effective, with a control rate of over 80%. Microbacterium and Kosakonia were moderately effective, with a control rate between 50 and 80%. At the same time, Escherichia, Lysinibacillus, Pseudomonas, and Rhizobium were found to be less effective, with a control rate of less than 40%. In conclusion, this study provides a reasonable experimental reference data for the control of bacterial wilt of mulberry.