Aims: A bacterial strain producing antifungal compounds active against the plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Sclerotinia has been characterized and shown to control Rhizoctonia root rot of soya bean. Methods and Results: The metabolites excreted by Bacillus BNM 122 remained active after autoclaving, were resistant over a wide pH range and to hydrolytic enzymes. By 1 H-NMR and thin-layer chromatography analyses surfactin and iturin-like compounds were partially identified. Moreover, soya bean seeds bacterization with BNM 122 in a compost-based formulation was as effective controlling Rhizoctonia solani as pentachloronitrobenzene. According to its 16S rDNA sequence BNM 122 was closely related to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtilis. PCR analysis of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) genomic fingerprinting revealed a close genetic relationship to B. amyloliquefaciens. However, by physiological characterization using API tests, this strain resembled more B. subtilis. Conclusions: This is the first report describing the co-production of surfactin and iturin-like compounds by a putative strain of B. amyloliquefaciens. The synergistic effect of both lipopetides is a remarkable trait for a candidate biocontrol agent. Significance and Impact of the Study: This kind of research has relevance in order to minimize the use of synthetic fungicides and surfactants, contributing to the preservation of the environment.

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This article correlates colonization with parameters, such as chemotaxis, biofilm formation, and bacterial growth, that are believed to be connected. We show here, by using two varieties of soybean plants that seeds axenically produced exudates, induced a chemotactic response in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, whereas root exudates did not, even when the exudates, also collected under axenic conditions, were concentrated up to 200-fold. Root exudates did not support bacterial cell division, whereas seed exudates contain compounds that support active cell division and high cell biomass at stationary phase. Seed exudates of the two soybean varieties also induced biofilm formation. B. amyloliquefaciens colonized both seeds and roots, and plant variety significantly affected bacterial root colonization, whereas it did not affect seed colonization. Colonization of roots in B. amyloliquefaciens occurred despite the lack of chemotaxis and growth stimulation by root exudates. The data presented in this article suggest that soybean seed colonization, but not root colonization, by B. amyloliquefaciens is influenced by chemotaxis, growth, and biofilm formation and that this may be caused by qualitative changes of the composition of root exudates.

Aims: Plant growth-promoting (PGP) activity of two Azospirillum strains and their effects on foliar and vascular bacterial diseases were evaluated on fresh market and cherry tomato. Methods and Results: Tomato seeds were inoculated with A. brasilense Sp7 or Azospirillum sp. BNM-65. Four-week-old plants were challenge-inoculated with Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (bacterial canker) or with Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (bacterial spot). Azospirillum-induced PGP was greater on cherry than on fresh-market tomato. Cherry tomato was more resistant to bacterial canker but more susceptible to bacterial spot than the fresh-market tomato. Canker severity was not affected by Azospirillum seed treatments. However, leaf-and plant-death were delayed on Azospirillum-treated plants compared with nontreated controls. Azospirillum increased the bacterial spot severity on cherry but not on fresh-market tomato. Conclusions: PGP was observed on both tomato genotypes, although growth effects were larger on cherry tomato. Also, Azospirillum treatments may alter tomato susceptibility to bacterial diseases. Significance and Impact of the Study: The interaction between PGP rhizobacteria like Azospirillum spp., not known to induce systemic resistance, with plant pathogens distantly located is frequently overlooked. This work demonstrates the importance of this kind of evaluation.

Cool-season grasses commonly harbor fungal endophytes in their aerial tissues. However

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The purpose of this study was to isolate and select indigenous soil Pseudomonas and Bacillus bacteria capable of developing multiple mechanisms of action related to the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi affecting soybean crops. The screening procedure consisted of antagonism tests against a panel of phytopathogenic fungi, taxonomic identification, detection by PCR of several genes related to antifungal activity, in vitro detection of the antifungal products, and root colonization assays. Two isolates, identified and designated as Pseudomonas fluorescens BNM296 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BNM340, were selected for further studies. These isolates protected plants against the damping-off caused by Pythium ultimum and were able to increase the seedling emergence rate after inoculation of soybean seeds with each bacterium. Also, the shoot nitrogen content was higher in plants when seeds were inoculated with BNM296. The polyphasic approach of this work allowed us to select two indigenous bacterial strains that promoted the early development of soybean plants.

The Southern Andean Yungas in Northwest Argentina constitute one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the world. Considerable changes in land use have taken place in this ecoregion, predominantly related to forest conversion to croplands, inducing losses in above-ground biodiversity and with potential impact on soil microbial communities. In this study, we used high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to assess whether land-use change and time under agriculture affect the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities. We selected two areas dedicated to sugarcane and soybean production, comprising both short- and long-term agricultural sites, and used the adjacent native forest soils as a reference. Land-use change altered the composition of bacterial communities, with differences between productive areas despite the similarities between both forests. At the phylum level, only Verrucomicrobia and Firmicutes changed in abundance after deforestation for sugarcane and soybean cropping, respectively. In cultivated soils, Verrucomicrobia decreased sharply (~80%), while Firmicutes were more abundant. Despite the fact that local diversity was increased in sugarcane systems and was not altered by soybean cropping, phylogenetic beta diversity declined along both chronosequences, evidencing a homogenization of soil bacterial communities over time. In spite of the detected alteration in composition and diversity, we found a core microbiome resistant to the disturbances caused by the conversion of forests to cultivated lands and few or none exclusive OTUs for each land-use type. The overall changes in the relative abundance of copiotrophic and oligotrophic taxa may have an impact in soil ecosystem functionality. However, communities with many taxa in common may also share many functional attributes, allowing to maintain at least some soil ecosystem services after forest conversion to croplands.