Microbial Community Structure in Gall and Leaf of Medicinal Plant Pistacia integerrima

Pistacia integerrima, a deciduous tree from the Anacardiaceae family, is well known for the formation of galls. These galls are rich in bioactive compounds and are commonly used in Ayurveda and traditional Indian medicine. However, the underlying mechanism of Pistacia integerrima gall formation remains unexplored. In this study, we identified the microbial communities associated with the galls and leaves of Pistacia integerrima using 16S rRNA and ITS gene sequencing. Our findings revealed the presence of bacterial genera such as Aeromonas, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas in both galls and leaves. Notably, both bacterial and fungal diversity was higher in leaves than in galls. Additionally, we identified that the fungal family Glomerellaceae is highly prevalent in galls, constituting a significant proportion of the fungal community, whereas its abundance in leaf samples is comparatively low. Further analysis using PICRUSt demonstrated that gall samples exhibited a greater number of highly abundant genes in the “microbial metabolism in diverse environments” pathway. This study provides valuable insights into the interactions between plants and microbes, enhancing our understanding of plant galls and informing future research efforts. It serves as a crucial resource for guiding further investigations into the intricate dynamics and mechanisms involved in the formation and development of plant galls.