DNA metabarcoding of grapevine trunk disease fungi present within mature grapevines of New Zealand

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are a threat to grape production worldwide. A diverse collection of fungal species are implicated in disease onset. Due to the long-term and complex nature of GTDs, new approaches are required to simultaneously detect microbial species in grapevine trunks. We used DNA metabarcoding of ribosomal ITS1 sequences to establish the distribution of trunk pathogens across vineyards (11-26 years old) in Marlborough, the largest wine-producing region in New Zealand.