No abstract

No abstract

Biotic interactions through volatile organic compounds (VOC) are frequent in nature. This investigation aimed to study the role of ITALIC! BacillusVOC for the beneficial effects on plants observed as improved growth and pathogen control. Four ITALIC! Bacillus amyloliquefacienssubsp. ITALIC! plantarumstrains were screened for VOC effects on ITALIC! Arabidopsis thalianaCol-0 seedlings and ITALIC! Brassicafungal phytopathogens. VOC from all four ITALIC! Bacillusstrains could promote growth of ITALIC! Arabidopsisplants resulting in increased shoot biomass but the effects were dependent on the growth medium. Dose response studies with UCMB5113 on MS agar with or without root exudates showed significant plant growth promotion even at low levels of bacteria. ITALIC! BacillusVOC antagonized growth of several fungal pathogens ITALIC! in vitro However, the plant growth promotion efficacy and fungal inhibition potency varied among the ITALIC! Bacillusstrains. VOC inhibition of several phytopathogens indicated efficient microbial antagonism supporting high rhizosphere competence of the ITALIC! Bacillusstrains. GC-MS analysis identified several VOC structures where the profiles differed depending on the growth medium. The ability of ITALIC! Bacillusstrains to produce both volatile and soluble compounds for plant growth promotion and disease biocontrol provides examples of rhizosphere microbes as an important ecosystem service with high potential to support sustainable crop production.

The Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum strain UCMB5113 is a Gram-positive rhizobacterium that can colonize plant roots and stimulate plant growth and defense based on unknown mechanisms. This reinforcement of plants may provide protection to various forms of biotic and abiotic stress. To determine the genetic traits involved in the mechanism of plant-bacteria association, the genome sequence of UCMB5113 was obtained by assembling paired-end Illumina reads. The assembled chromosome of 3,889,532 bp was predicted to encode 3,656 proteins. Genes that potentially contribute to plant growth promotion such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis, acetoin synthesis and siderophore production were identified. Moreover, annotation identified putative genes responsible for non-ribosomal synthesis of secondary metabolites and genes supporting environment fitness of UCMB5113 including drug and metal resistance. A large number of genes encoding a diverse set of secretory proteins, enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism and carbohydrate active enzymes were found which reflect a high capacity to degrade various rhizosphere macromolecules. Additionally, many predicted membrane transporters provides the bacterium with efficient uptake capabilities of several nutrients. Although, UCMB5113 has the possibility to produce antibiotics and biosurfactants, the protective effect of plants to pathogens seems to be indirect and due to priming of plant induced systemic resistance. The availability of the genome enables identification of genes and their function underpinning beneficial interactions of UCMB5113 with plants.

SummaryPathogenesis-related protein 2 (PR2) is known to play a major role in plant defense and general stress responses. Resistance against the fungal pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans in Arabidopsis requires abscisic acid (ABA), which promotes the deposition of callose, a b-1,3-glucan polymer. Here, we examined the role of PR2 in callose deposition in relation to ABA treatment and challenge with L. maculans and Pseudomonas syringae.Characterization of PR2-overexpressing plants and the knockout line indicated that PR2 negatively affects callose deposition. Recombinant PR2 purified from Pichia pastoris showed callose-degrading activity, and a considerable reduction in the callose-degrading activity was observed in the leaf extract of the PR2 knockout line compared with the wild-type.ABA pretreatment before challenge with L. maculans concomitantly repressed PR2 and enhanced callose accumulation. Likewise, overexpression of an ABA biosynthesis gene NCED3 resulted in reduced PR2 expression and increased callose deposition.We propose that ABA promotes callose deposition through the transcriptional repression of PR2 in Arabidopsis challenged by L. maculans and P. syringae. Callose by itself is likely to act antagonistically on salicylic acid (SA) defense signaling, suggesting that PR2 may function as a modulator of callose-and SA-dependent defense responses.