Microbial composition changes on the surface of strawberries from the field and market by 16SrDNA sequencing

Fresh fruit is indispensable as a part of a daily diet; however, it commonly harbors large and diverse bacteria populations, including some important human pathogens. To determine the microbial composition on the surface of a strawberry, and structural changes of microbial composition from the field and market, 16SrDNA sequencing of 32 samples collected from production field (B) and market (M), which were divided into Groups I through III, was performed in this study. As a result, the 3,073 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were clustered, and 5 phyla and 10 genera were dominant across all samples. When comparing I.B with I.M, Acinetobacter, Buchnera, and Bradyrhizobium were higher in I.B (p > 0.05), while Bacteroides, Pseudomonas, and Shewanella were higher in I.M (p > 0.05). Comparing II.B with II.M, Campylobacter was dominant in II.B, while most of the top10 genera decreased in II.M, except Acinetobacter, which presented an overwhelming richness, with an average relative abundance of 65.657 ± 1.071% (p = 0.002). Comparing III.B with III.M, Buchnera decreased in III.M, while Shewanella increased. Additionally, a certain number of opportunistic pathogens that included Acinetobacter were present in some samples. Therefore, analysis of microbial composition changes on the surface of strawberries is important for ensuring the biological safety of strawberries. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This paper focused on determining the microbial composition on the surface of strawberry and comparing its structural changes of microbial composition from the field and market. The study results will be helpful for ensuring the biological safety of strawberries as well as a scientific basis for the traceability of microbial contamination of strawberries.