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Could there be heretofore hidden indicators of a coffee plant’s climate and pest
resilience, and even its flavor characteristics? Scientists in Toronto are literally getting
to the bottom of this possibility with new research on the bacteria and fungi that
“partner” with the roots of coffee trees.
Ecologists Roberta Fulthorpe, Adam R. Martin and Marney E. Isaac, all from the
department of physical and environmental sciences at the University of Toronto
Scarborough, used multiple methods of DNA analysis to document what microbes are
consistently found in coffee root tissue growing on four different Central American
coffee farms.
The underlying principle is that a consistent plant root microbiome ? a community of
organisms such as bacteria and fungi ? across different healthy plants would indicate
a beneficial microbial relationship.
From there, agronomists could work to determine which specific conditions result in
the healthy microbiome and use that data to determine best management practices to
foster healthy plants amidst changing environmental conditions due to climate change.
Samples of Pacas and Caturra coffee plant roots were taken from four farms in Costa
Rica and Nicaragua, varying from full sun monoculture to intercropped shade coffee
agroforestry, that experience different patterns of temperature and rain and are
operated using different farm-management techniques.
The study summarized these generally as either hot and wet, hot and dry, cool and
wet or cool and dry. Analysis revealed 26 bacterial and 31 fungal species that the
researchers could classify as belonging to coffee’s “core microbiome,” including several
that are known to be beneficial to plant health and should be further investigated,
according to the scientists.
The results also indicated that bacteria present in the different coffee roots were
relatively consistent from one location to the next, as well as from one plant to the
next. The fungal microbiome, meanwhile, was more sensitive to the conditions under
which the plant was growing, while also varying more depending on the variety of
coffee plant.
“Our results open the door for understanding if or how microbiomes can be managed
in real-world cropping systems,” Martin said in a press release issued by the
American Phytopathological Society. “Our work also leads to interesting questions on
whether or not the flavor of our morning cup of coffee is influenced by the plant’s
microbes.”
The complete study called “Root Endophytes of Coffee (Coffea arabica): Variation
Across Climatic Gradients and Relationships with Functional Traits,” was published in
the February 2020 issue of Phytobiomes Journal.
- 353 -
resilience, and even its flavor characteristics? Scientists in Toronto are literally getting
to the bottom of this possibility with new research on the bacteria and fungi that
“partner” with the roots of coffee trees.
Ecologists Roberta Fulthorpe, Adam R. Martin and Marney E. Isaac, all from the
department of physical and environmental sciences at the University of Toronto
Scarborough, used multiple methods of DNA analysis to document what microbes are
consistently found in coffee root tissue growing on four different Central American
coffee farms.
The underlying principle is that a consistent plant root microbiome ? a community of
organisms such as bacteria and fungi ? across different healthy plants would indicate
a beneficial microbial relationship.
From there, agronomists could work to determine which specific conditions result in
the healthy microbiome and use that data to determine best management practices to
foster healthy plants amidst changing environmental conditions due to climate change.
Samples of Pacas and Caturra coffee plant roots were taken from four farms in Costa
Rica and Nicaragua, varying from full sun monoculture to intercropped shade coffee
agroforestry, that experience different patterns of temperature and rain and are
operated using different farm-management techniques.
The study summarized these generally as either hot and wet, hot and dry, cool and
wet or cool and dry. Analysis revealed 26 bacterial and 31 fungal species that the
researchers could classify as belonging to coffee’s “core microbiome,” including several
that are known to be beneficial to plant health and should be further investigated,
according to the scientists.
The results also indicated that bacteria present in the different coffee roots were
relatively consistent from one location to the next, as well as from one plant to the
next. The fungal microbiome, meanwhile, was more sensitive to the conditions under
which the plant was growing, while also varying more depending on the variety of
coffee plant.
“Our results open the door for understanding if or how microbiomes can be managed
in real-world cropping systems,” Martin said in a press release issued by the
American Phytopathological Society. “Our work also leads to interesting questions on
whether or not the flavor of our morning cup of coffee is influenced by the plant’s
microbes.”
The complete study called “Root Endophytes of Coffee (Coffea arabica): Variation
Across Climatic Gradients and Relationships with Functional Traits,” was published in
the February 2020 issue of Phytobiomes Journal.
- 353 -
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