UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF FUNGICIDES ON LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY SOIL ECOLOGY THROUGH MICROBIOME METHODS
Abstract
Lowbush blueberries are an economically significant crop produced by managing
naturally occurring populations. As such, they have an intimate relationship with the soil
microbiome and depend on it for their health and productivity. Fungicides are important
to reduce disease pressure but pose a potential risk to soil health. Metagenomic methods
are a powerful set of tools to understand the nature of these plant-microbiome
interactions and the ways in which fungicides affect them. This thesis contains the
findings of two studies comparing fungal and bacterial populations of soils treated with
fungicides to those of untreated soils, using amplicon sequencing. In both, significant
changes to the soil ecosystem were found as a result of fungicide treatment. While the
specific findings of the studies differed; their combined results suggest that changes to
soil ecosystems occur due to fungicide application, and that further research is needed to
understand its long-term effects on soil health.