Seed-associated bacterial community structure and possible transmission to seedling in wasabi, Eutrema japonicum.

Seeds harbor microbial communities that contribute to enhancing the plant stress resilience. Using 16S rRNA gene profiling, this study characterized the bacterial microbiota of dry and pre-germinated seeds, and three compartments (soil, root, and leaf) from seedlings of wasabi ( Eutrema japonicum ). The seed-associated communities exhibited distinct characteristics in terms of the diversity metrics. SourceTracker analysis together with shared amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) between dry and pre-germinated seeds suggests that the seed microbiota may be partially transmitted to the seedling tissues. In particular, Burkholderiaceae among the seed core ASVs dominated the leaf-associated microbiota, suggesting preferential seed-to-leaf transmission in wasabi.