Abstract
Root rot disease is a serious infection leading to production loss of Chinese wolfberry (Lycium barbarum). This study tested the potential for two bacterial biological control agents, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens HSB1 and FZB42, against five fungal pathogens that frequently cause root rot in Chinese wolfberry. Both HSB1 and FZB42 were found to inhibit fungal mycelial growth, in vitro and in planta, as well as to promote the growth of wolfberry seedlings. In fact, a biocontrol experiment showed efficiency of 100% with at least one treatment involving each biocontrol strain against Fusarium oxysporum. Metagenomic sequencing was used to assess bacterial community shifts in the wolfberry rhizosphere upon introduction of each biocontrol strain. Results showed that HSB1 and FZB42 differentially altered the abundances of different taxa present and positively influenced various functions of inherent wolfberry rhizosphere bacteria. This study highlights the application of biocontrol method in the suppression of fungal pathogens that cause root rot disease in wolfberry, which is useful for agricultural extension agents and commercial growers.
Highlights
Chinese wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) is a deciduous perennial plant of economic importance that grows well in the northwest, arid regions of China due to its salt tolerance, drought resistance, and fast-growing qualities (Byambasuren et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2019b)
We used five fungal pathogens, including Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. chlamydosporum, F. tricinctum and Alternaria alternata, that were previously identified as root-rot-causing pathogens in wolfberry plants and they were preserved in glycerol at −80◦C (Uwaremwe et al, 2021)
The results showed that both HSB1 and FZB42 inhibited mycelial growth of all five fungal pathogens compared to the control (petri plates without bacterial served as control (Figure 2)
Summary
Chinese wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) is a deciduous perennial plant of economic importance that grows well in the northwest, arid regions of China due to its salt tolerance, drought resistance, and fast-growing qualities (Byambasuren et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2019b). (fungi), have demonstrated abilities to suppress several soil borne plant pathogens, including species of Streptomyces and Fusarium, while promoting plant growth (Singhai et al, 2011; Meng et al, 2013; Saravanakumar et al, 2017). They can serve simultaneously as both biopesticide and biofertilizer. Some studies revealed that the application of BCAs belonging to Bacillus spp. or Trichoderma spp. suppressed soil borne plant diseases and altered the composition of the rhizosphere microbial community in banana, cucumber, and potato (Shen et al, 2015; Han et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2019c)
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