Microbiome of stored sugar beets

Sugar beet is a major crop for sugar production in Austria, making the preservation of its yield and quality essential throughout the production chain. However, significant challenges arise due to food loss during long storage periods. To uncover the dynamics underlying microbial patterns, 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing were utilized to analyze bacterial and fungal communities in four sugar beet varieties with different storability responses during a 12-week storage trial.