Abstract
BackgroundBacterial volatiles promote plant growth and elicit immunity responses in plants grown in two-compartment Petri dishes. Due to the limitations of bacterial volatile compound (BVC) treatments such as their high evaporation rates, it is convenient to apply BVCs in closed systems such as greenhouses. However, the concentrations of BVCs must be optimised. We therefore attempted to optimise BVC emissions from bacteria grown on solid medium and synthetic BVC treatment in order to maximise plant growth and induced resistance in a miniature greenhouse system.ResultsWe cultivated the model BVC emitter Bacillus subtilis GB03 on complex medium for continuous treatment, which we placed near 1-week-old cucumber seedlings in a miniature greenhouse. Aboveground and belowground plant growth parameters were significantly increased at 1 and 2 weeks after treatment with BVCs released by B. subtilis GB03. Moreover, this treatment protected cucumber seedlings against the angular leaf spot pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans. In addition, cucumber shoot growth was promoted in response to the slow release of BVCs from filter paper that had absorbed 1000 and 10 µM synthetic 2,3-butanediol, a key BVC from B. subtilis strain GB03. However, induced resistance was only elicited when 10 plates containing 10 µM 2,3-butanediol were utilised in the miniature greenhouse. The mechanism of induced resistance appears to involve the activation of the jasmonic acid signalling pathway.ConclusionsTo overcome the difficulties associated with treatment using a single application of BVC in the greenhouse, we optimised conditions for BVC application via consistent exposure in a slow-release system.
Highlights
Bacterial volatiles promote plant growth and elicit immunity responses in plants grown in twocompartment Petri dishes
Effects of different concentrations of bacterial volatile compound (BVC) on cucumber growth and elicitation of induced resistance To investigate whether BVCs can be used to enhance the growth and immunity of crops through continuous treatment, we established a miniature greenhouse system
To confer the slow release of BVCs, the bacteria were cultured on medium in stacked plates with covered lids
Summary
Bacterial volatiles promote plant growth and elicit immunity responses in plants grown in twocompartment Petri dishes. We attempted to optimise BVC emissions from bacteria grown on solid medium and synthetic BVC treatment in order to maximise plant growth and induced resistance in a miniature greenhouse system. To attempt to fill this gap, various studies have focused on the application of BVCs to improve plant growth and elicit induced resistance in the greenhouse and field [5,6,7,8,9]. It is difficult to avoid problems with biosafety when attempting to apply synthetic BVCs to plants in the field. BVCs produced via bacterial cultures were shown to promote plant growth and induce plant resistance [6]. In most studies involving the field application of BVCs, these compounds were dissolved in water and applied to plants via drench application [6, 7]. To avoid the rapid release of BVCs, strategies have been developed in which volatile compounds are encapsulated in biodegradable biopolymer shells to allow the volatile compounds to be released slowly over several days [10]
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