Plants provide a niche rich in nutrients for the
growth and development of various groups of microorganisms, especially bacteria. Mutualistic interactions between host plants and associated bacteria could have played
a key role in the selection of a relatively specific fruit microbial
community (Trivedi et al. 2011). The microbial biodiversity
on fruits depends on regional environmental factors, such
as the humidity, temperature and soil population, and on the
physicochemical properties of each individual fruit species
(Thomas and Soly 2009).
Only a few studies have reported the epiphytic microbiota
on fruit from the Cerrado; microbial diversity has been studied
for the Acerola, Pitanga, Umbu and Mangaba fruits (Trindade
et al. 2002), for Pequi (Ferreira and Junqueira 2007) and for
dried Cabacinha fruit (Amaral et al. 2001). The epiphytic
microbiota is composed of bacteria, yeasts and filamentous
fungi that may have pectinolytic, cellulolytic, proteolytic, and
antimicrobial activities and may be pathogenic to humans
(Trindade et al. 2002; Ferreira and Junqueira 2007).