Dataset of core and differentially abundant bacteria in various compartments of farm-cultivated and home-planted chilli plants (Capsicum frutescens).

ABSTRACT

Chillies are members of the genus Capsicum L. (family Solanaceae). They are native to Central and South America and consist of approximately 35 species [1,2]. Among these, five species (C. annuum L., C. baccatum L., C. chinense Jacq., C. frutescens L., and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav.) have been domesticated and are mainly cultivated for consumption as vegetables and spices. Of the domesticated chillies, C. annuum is commercially cultivated worldwide, while C. frutescens and C. chinense are mainly cultivated in American, Asian, and African countries [3]. We compared the diversity of microbiota in various compartments of farm-cultivated (FC) and home-planted (HP) chilli plants (Capsicum frutescens). Targeted 16S rRNA gene (V5-V6 region) was sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, Bacteroidota, and Firmicutes were present in all compartments of both the FC and HP plants. Proteobacteria (or Pseudomonadota) was the predominant phylum in all the compartments of both HP and FC plants, while Actinobacteriota (or Actinomycetota) was the second most abundant phylum. Most plant compartments (leaves, fruits and roots) exhibited a higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria compared to the soil samples. With few exceptions, the soil compartments (bulk and rhizospheric soils) displayed a higher relative abundance of the phyla Myxococcota, Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, Bacteroidota, Nitrospirota, Verrucomicrobiota, and Firmicutes than the plant compartments. Diversity indices revealed that the bacterial community in chili plants clustered based on both compartment and cultivation area.