The microbiome of mezcal agaves: agricultural management and dysbiosis

Agave species used for mezcal production host diverse microbial communities that influence plant health, fermentation processes, and ecosystem functioning. However, the extent to which agricultural management modifies these communities potentially inducing dysbiosis and their ecological interactions remains poorly understood. Here, we characterized bacterial and fungal microbiomes associated with six mezcal producing agave species across wild, traditional, and conventional management systems. Using 16S and ITS2 amplicon sequencing, we identified a cross-species core microbiome composed of 22 bacterial and 8 fungal genera shared across plant compartments and soils