Abstract
“Take-all” disease is the most important biotic factor affecting cereal productivity, causing 30–50% of crop losses. The causal agent is the ascomycete soil-borne pathogen Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici (Ggt). Current control measures are ineffective, because Ggt can remain saprophytic in soils for long periods. Therefore, the study of the microbiome residing in suppressive soils (SS) is a promising niche of Ggt biocontrol. Here, we evaluated the efficiency of Serratia sp., Bacillus sp., and Acinetobacter sp. isolated from SS against the incidence of Ggt on wheat. Our results demonstrated that plants inoculated with the bacterial consortium in both greenhouse and field conditions were highly efficient in Ggt biocontrol, more so than individual strains. The disease reduction was evidenced by higher biomass production, fewer copies of the Ggt genome with a concomitant curtailment of blackening of roots, a decrease of lipid peroxidation, and an increase of superoxide dismutase activity. The ability of the microbial consortium over that of single strains could be attributable to interspecies communication as a strategy to biocontrol; i.e., higher chitinase activity. In conclusion, bacterial consortia from SS are an important niche of Ggt biocontrol, serving as a model for other soil-borne pathogens.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major staple crop, playing a fundamental role in the human diet, especially in developing countries [1]
With respect to plant-growth-promoting traits, Bacillus sp. and the consortium showed the strongest ability to solubilize tricalcium phosphate on National Botanical Research Institute phosphate (NBRIP) media based on halo formation around colonies (Table 2)
The mechanisms beyond the suppressiveness soil have been attributed to specific bacterial taxes or particular strains, generally known of a soil have been attributed to specific bacterial taxes or particular strains, generally as plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), which play important roles in the growth known as plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), which play important roles in the and development of their host plants [42,43]
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major staple crop, playing a fundamental role in the human diet, especially in developing countries [1]. Tritici (Ggt), causal agent of “take-all” disease, the most economically important biotic factor affecting wheat crops [3]. Wheat production is vulnerable to soil-borne pathogens, such as Gaeumannomyces graminis var. This pathogenic fungus is transmitted from the soil to the plant, as well from plant to plant, via runner hyphae growing through root bridges [4]. Their survival through perithecia in crop residues is the main strategy to infect the generation of crops [5]. The severity of Ggt could cause losses of approximately 30% to 50% of wheat production [6,7]
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