Abstract
Most isolates belonging to the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum clade retain the potential to produce a vast array of structurally diverse antimicrobial compounds that largely contribute to their efficacy as biocontrol agents against numerous plant fungal pathogens. In that context, the role of cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs) has been well-documented but still little is known about the impact of interactions with other soil-inhabiting microbes on the expression of these molecules. In this work, we wanted to investigate the antagonistic activity developed by this bacterium against Rhizomucor variabilis, a pathogen isolated from diseased maize cobs in Democratic Republic of Congo. Our data show that fengycins are the major compounds involved in the inhibitory activity but also that production of this type of CLP is significantly upregulated when co-cultured with the fungus compared to pure cultures. B. amyloliquefaciens is thus able to perceive fungal molecules that are emitted and, as a response, up-regulates the biosynthesis of some specific components of its antimicrobial arsenal.
Highlights
Biological control involving natural antagonistic microorganisms has emerged as a promising alternative to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture
The results showed that bacterial treatment reduced significantly the mortality rate and leaf infection compared to N.T plants with a high and significant (α < 0.05) reduction of disease severity
We show in this study that fengycin synthesis in Bacillus is overexpressed in the presence of R. variabilis compared to pure cultures suggesting that the bacterium is able to perceive some molecular trigger(s) released by the pathogen
Summary
Biological control involving natural antagonistic microorganisms has emerged as a promising alternative to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. These compounds are crucial both for rhizosphere fitness of the producing strains and for their biocontrol potential (Ongena et al, 2005; Romero et al, 2007; Ongena and Jacques, 2008; Raaijmakers et al, 2010; Borriss, 2011; Cawoy et al, 2015; Chowdhury et al, 2015).
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