Vascular plants are commonly colonized by endophytic actinobacteria. However, very little is known about the relationship between these microorganisms and cacao fruits. In order to determine the physiological and taxonomic relationships between the members of this community, actinobacteria were isolated from cacao fruits and seeds. Among the 49 isolates recovered, 11 morphologically distinct isolates were selected for further characterization. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene allowed the partition of the selected isolates into three phylogenetic clades. Most of the selected endophytic isolates belonged to the Streptomyces violaceusniger clade. Physiological characterization was carried out and a similarity index was used to cluster the isolates. However, clustering based on physiological properties did not match phylogenetic lineages. Isolates were also characterized for traits commonly associated with plant growth-promoting bacteria, including antibiosis and auxin biosynthesis. All isolates exhibited resistance to geldanamycin, whereas only two isolates were shown to produce this antibiotic. Endophytes were inoculated on radish seedlings and most isolates were found to possess plant growth-promoting abilities. These endophytic actinobacteria inhibited the growth of various plant pathogenic fungi and/or bacteria. The present study showed that S. violaceusniger clade members represent a significant part of the actinobacterial community living as endophytes in cacao fruits and seeds. While several members of this clade are known to be geldanamycin producers and efficient biocontrol agents of plant diseases, we herein established the endophytic lifestyle of some of these microorganisms, demonstrating their potential as plant health agents.

The taxonomy of an actinobacterial strain, designated JJY4T, was established using a polyphasic approach. JJY4T was isolated from the rhizosphere of Chromolaena odorata in Yaoundé (Cameroon) during a project for the selection of biological control agents. Strain JJY4T exhibited antimicrobial activities against bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. Strain JJY4T also exhibited the traits of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria such as the solubilization of inorganic phosphate, production of siderophores and indole-3-acetic acid, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity. In planta assays performed on cocoa plantlets confirmed that strain JJY4T exhibited strong abilities to promote plant growth and protect against Phytophthora megakarya, the main causal agent of cocoa pod rot. The formation of rugose-ornamented spores in spiral spore chains by strain JJY4T is a typical feature of members found in the Streptomyces violaceusniger clade and, similar to some members of the clade, strain JJY4T produces geldanamycin. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed this classification and suggests that strain JJY4T be added to the subclade constituted of the type strains Streptomyces malaysiensis DSM 41697T and Streptomyces samsunensis DSM 42010T. However, DNA–DNA relatedness and physiological characteristics allowed for the differentiation of strain JJY4T from its closest phylogenetic relatives. Based on these results, strain JJY4T (=NRRL B-65369, =NBRC 112705) appears to represent a novel species in the S. violaceusniger clade for which the proposed name is Streptomyces cameroonensis sp. nov.

There is evidence of five clades of Plasmopara viticola in the world. Only two clades, riparia and aestivalis, have been identified as responsible for the downy mildew epidemics in Quebec, Canada. It was reported in 2021 that epidemics caused by clade riparia start 2 or 3 weeks before those caused by clade aestivalis and that clade aestivalis was more aggressive than clade riparia. The objective of this work was to study the competition between P. viticola clade riparia (A) and clade aestivalis (B) and to compare the aggressiveness of both clades in mono- and co-infection situations. Suspensions of sporangia from both clades with six percentage combinations (AB 100–0; AB 89–11; AB 74–26; AB 46–54; AB 23–77 and AB 0–100) were inoculated on leaf discs (cultivar Vidal), and three other combinations (AB 88–12; AB 68–32 and AB 47–53) were inoculated on living leaves of grape plants (cultivar Vidal). Subsequently, sporangium production expressed as percentage of sporangia produced by each clade was estimated on leaf discs after eight cycles of infection-sporulation and then validated on living grape leaves after five cycles. The aggressiveness of clades in mono-infection situations on leaf discs was compared to that in co-infection situations. The results show that the percentage of sporangia produced by clade aestivalis increases with the infection-sporulation cycle while that produced by clade riparia decreases. The area under the sporangium production progress curve (AUSPPC) of clade aestivalis was significantly higher than that of clade riparia. The aggressiveness of P. viticola clades riparia and aestivalis in co-infection situations was different from those in mono-infection situations and was strongly influenced by percentage of each clade in competition. These results suggest that on the grapevine cultivar Vidal, P. viticola clade aestivalis is more competitive than clade riparia and that the percentage of each clade present in the vineyard should be considered for management of downy mildew.

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