Abstract
Verticillium wilt of cotton is an economically important disease caused by Verticillium dahliae. Microbial-mediated biological control has become a sustainable alternative because of its environmental friendliness. In this study, strain YZU-SG146 (G146) was isolated from Fraxinus hupehensis plants and screened for its antagonistic activity against mycelial growth of a broad-spectrum of phytopathogenic fungi belonging to Sclerotium, Magnaporthe, Alternaria, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Bipolaris and Colletotrichum genera. G146 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens on the bases of morphological characteristics, 16S rDNA and gyrB gene analysis. G146 inhibited the mycelial growth and spore germination of V. dahliae by 89.22% and 68.20%, respectively. In a potting test, the control efficiency of G146 against Verticillium wilt of cotton was 84.21%. Moreover, G146 significantly promoted the growth of cotton seeds and seedlings such as root length, seedling length and seedling dry weight. The plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits in vitro screening showed that G146 secreted siderophores, indoleacetic acid (IAA), cellulase, proteases and amylase. It also produced Macrolactin (mlnABE), bacilysin, Chrysin, Sclareol, Emodin-8-glucoside and Hydroxygenkwanin based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. G146 induced resistance to infection of V. dahliae and it was found that reactive oxygen species burst in cotton leaves and lignification in cotton hypocotyls. This study revealed that B. amyloliquefaciens G146 had high potential to be used as a biocontrol agent to control Verticillium wilt of cotton. This is the first report of endophytic bacteria of F. hupehensis to control Verticillium wilt of cotton.
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