Bacterial and fungal microbiota associated with the stigma of parasitic plant Phelipanche arenaria

The stigma is a specialized plant tissue which plays a key role in pollination, fertilization and seed formation. Stigma-associated microbiota is usually classified as potentially beneficial, but pathogen infection also occurs. Here, we investigated bacterial and fungal abundance in parasitic plant Phelipanche arenaria using high-throughput sequencing. The stigma samples were collected in the Malopolska Upland (Poland).