A method of growing germ-free Napa cabbages has been developed which enables researchers to evaluate how single microbial species or multispecies microbial communities interact on cabbage leaf surfaces. A sterile vegetable extract is also presented which can be used to measure shifts in community composition during vegetable fermentation.
Miller, E. R., O'Mara Schwartz, J., Cox, G., Wolfe, B. E. A Gnotobiotic System for Studying Microbiome Assembly in the Phyllosphere and in Vegetable Fermentation. J. Vis. Exp. (160), e61149, doi:10.3791/61149 (2020).