Molecular Profiling of Bacterial Community Associated with Musa paradisiaca (L.) Fruits

Musa paradisiaca (L.), a key tropical fruit crop, holds nutritional and economic importance. Its fruit-associated microbial communities affect postharvest quality, shelf life, and biotechnological potential. However, molecular data on bacterial populations across ripening stages remain scarce. This study used Illumina NGS to characterize bacterial communities in ripe and unripe plantain fruits from Choba market, Rivers State, Nigeria. DNA was extracted via Laragen’s protocol, and the 16S rDNA V4 region was amplified using 515F/806R primers. Sequencing yielded 21,344 quality-filtered reads, producing 479 OTUs. Ripe fruits showed higher bacterial richness and diversity (Chao1 and Shannon indices) than unripe ones. Proteobacteria dominated both samples (74.70% ripe; 35.85% unripe), followed by Firmicutes (23.63%; 3.20%). Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were minor (