Fig. 4

Sampling scheme of the case study input datasets. The following four varieties were included: two (V1, V6) with good storability (less sucrose loss, marked in green) and two (V2, V5) with increased sucrose loss after storage (purple coloring). After harvest, the sugar beets were stored in a semi-controlled environment for 12–13 weeks as previously described [51]. From three individuals per variety, samples for microbiomics (16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing) were taken from the adhering soil, the peel, the tissue at the periphery and the tissue of the center of the beet root. For transcriptomic (T) and metabolomic (M) analyses, a disc was cut from the beet root, from which blocks were extracted and of which the outer first centimeter was removed [51]. Designed by Tatjana Hirschmugl