Rhizosphere bacteria antagonistic to soybean cyst (Heterodera glycines) and root-knot (Meloidogyne incognita) nematodes: Identification by fatty acid analysis and frequency of biological control activity

Abstract

Rhizosphere bacteria were isolated from roots of young and mature plants with known antagonism to phytopathogenic nematodes, including velvet bean (Mucuna deeringiana), castor bean (Ricinus communis), sword bean (Cannavalia ensiformis), and Abruzzi rye (Secale cereale). Isolates from antagonistic plants were compared to soybean isolates for the frequency of antagonism to the root-knot (Meloidogyne incognita) and soybean cyst (Heterodera schachtii) nematodes in a disease assay with soybean. Bacterial isolates were identified using fatty acid analysis, and isolates which exhibited a significant reduction in incidence of soybean damage from both nematodes were characterized physiologically. The bacterial taxa associated with antagonistic plants were markedly different from soybean bacteria. Isolates from soybean were predominantly Bacillus spp., while those from antagonistic plants included more coryneform and Gram-negative genera. Pseudomonas cepacia and Pseudomonas gladioli were predominant among Gram-negative bacteria on antagonistic plants but were not isolated from soybean. Four to six times the number of bacteria from antagonistic plants, compared to soybean, significantly reduced disease incidence of both nematodes. No single pattern of physiological reactions was common among all these bacteria, suggesting that multiple mechanisms accounted for the observed biological control. The results suggest that rhizospheres of antagonistic plants may be useful sources of potential biological control agents for phytopathogenic nematodes.