Amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA and ITS) was used to characterize bacterial and fungal communities associated with Vitis vinifera cv. Ahmeur bou Ahmeur grape berries surface collected from different plants within a single vineyard in the Atacama Desert, Chile
Grapevine-associated microbiomes play an important role in plant health, grape quality, and the winemaking process. Despite increasing interest in vineyard microbiota, little is known about microbial diversity in extreme arid environments such as the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. In this study, we investigated the bacterial and fungal communities associated with Vitis vinifera cv. Ahmeur bou Ahmeur berries collected from different plants within a single vineyard located in the Pampa del Tamarugal. DNA was extracted from berry surfaces, and the 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and ITS region (fungi) were amplified and sequenced using high-throughput sequencing. Raw reads were quality-filtered, clustered into amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), and taxonomically classified using curated reference databases. Community composition, alpha diversity, and beta diversity metrics were analyzed to assess variability among replicates and among plants. These data provide one of the first characterizations of grape-associated microbiomes under hyper-arid desert conditions, offering a valuable resource for future studies on microbial ecology, plant–microbe interactions, and biotechnological potential in viticulture under extreme climates.