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Analysis of institutional authors

Mulet, Jose MAuthorYenush, LynneAuthorPorcel, RosaCorresponding Author

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October 23, 2025
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Impact of Different Microbial Biostimulants and Salt Stress on the Endophytome of the Edible Part of Lettuce and Tomato Plants

Publicated to: Foods. 14 (19): 3366- - 2025-09-29 14(19), DOI: 10.3390/foods14193366

Authors:

Mulet, JM; Benito, P; Celdrán, M; Yenush, L; Porcel, R
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Affiliations

Cald Iberica, Slu Llobateras 23-25, Barbera Del Valles 08210, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Valencia, CSIC, Inst Biol Mol & Celular Plantas IBMCP, Valencia 46022, Spain - Author

Abstract

The human gut microbiota plays a critical role in health throughout life. While fruits and vegetables are well-known sources of nutrients and prebiotics, recent studies suggest they may also contribute viable microorganisms to the gut microbiome, particularly when consumed raw. However, the impact of agricultural practices-such as the use of microbial biostimulants or exposure to salt stress-on the composition of the edible plant microbiome remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed a comprehensive metataxonomic analysis of the endophytic microbiome in the edible tissues (leaves or fruits) of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), cultivated under standard conditions with or without microbial biostimulants and salt stress. Our results show that microbial biostimulants-Priestia megaterium (PGPB) and Rhizophagus irregularis (AMF)-as well as moderate salt stress, significantly reshape the composition and diversity of endophytes in both crops. Notably, the PGPB and NaCl treatments enhanced the abundance of bacterial genera such as Pantoea, Stenotrophomonas, and Massilia, which are associated with plant health and may have probiotic potential. Salt stress also increased alpha-diversity indices and favored the presence of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota, phyla commonly linked to a healthy human gut microbiome. Agronomic inputs used in organic and conventional farming, such as microbial biostimulants or controlled salt exposure, may represent novel strategies to enhance the microbial quality of fresh produce and promote gut microbial diversity through diet.
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Keywords

<italic>priestia megaterium</italic>Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungiBacteriaBiostimulantEndophyteLeavesLettucePriestia megateriumPseudomonasSalinitySalt stressTomato

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Foods due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 43/182, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science & Technology.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-02:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 5.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 5 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 22.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 8 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Netherlands.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Mulet Salort, José Miguel) and Last Author (Porcel Roldán, Rosa Caridad).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Porcel Roldán, Rosa Caridad.

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Awards linked to the item

This research was funded by the research project CPP2022-009965 "Modelo de evaluacion de efectos de bioestimulantes en cultivos con condiciones de stress abiotico: escasez de agua y baja fertilizacion (MODELCALBIOSTRESS)" funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the "European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR" and by PAID-06-22 "Evaluacion del efecto beneficioso de la combinacion de diferentes bioestimulantes comerciales (extractos de productos naturales y microbianos) bajo condiciones de estres salino en plantas de interes agronomico" funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.
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