Ultrastructure of in vivo interactions of the antagonist bacteria Bacillus cereus X16 and B. thuringiensis 55T with Fusarium roseum var. sambucinum, the casual agent of potato dry rot.

Abstract

The interaction of Fusarium roseum var. sambucinum, the causal agent of potato dry rot, with two antagonistic bacteria, Bacillus cereus X16 and B. thuringiensis 55T, was studied on wounded potato tubers using light and electron microscopy. Application of B. cereus X16 or B. thuringiensis 55T to potato wounds before challenge with the pathogen suppressed dry rot and restricted fungal growth in plant tissues to the first few cell layers beneath the site of inoculation. Both bacterial antagonists penetrated into potato tissues and established themselves through intercellular and intracellular proliferation. The extent of Fusarium colonization was appreciably reduced in the bacterized tubers, and most fungal cells in these tubers were severely damaged, with appreciable morphological and structural changes. In potato tubers bacterized by B. thuringiensis 55T, Fusarium invasion of the host tissues did not stimulate structural host reactions, and direct parasitism, which operates by degradation of the fungal cell walls and disintegration of the fungal cytoplasm, seemed to play a key role in the antagonism against Fusarium hyphae. In potato tubers inoculated with B. cereus X16 and challenged with the pathogen, on the other hand, a set of defense reactions, were triggered, including modifications of the primary cell walls and the occlusion of some cells and vascular tissues with different types of electron-opaque materials. Fungal hyphae in the vicinity of these barriers, apparently containing higher than usual levels of phenol-like compounds, usually showed advanced stages of disorganization, suggesting the existence of a fungitoxic environment. The results presented here show that the two antagonistic bacilli use different biocontrol strategies to suppress Fusarium dry rot development.