Smells from the desert: Microbial volatiles that affect plant growth and development of native and non‐native plant species

Abstract

The plant microbiota can affect host fitness via the emission of microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) that influence growth and development. However, evidence of these molecules and their effects in plants from arid ecosystems is limited. We screened the mVOCs produced by 40 core and representative members of the microbiome of agaves and cacti in their interaction with Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana. We used SPME‐GC‐MS to characterize the chemical diversity of mVOCs and tested the effects of selected compounds on growth and development of model and host plants. Our study revealed that approximately 90% of the bacterial strains promoted plant growth both in A. thaliana and N. benthamiana. Bacterial VOCs were mainly composed of esters, alcohols, and S‐containing compounds with 25% of them not previously characterized. Remarkably, ethyl isovalerate, isoamyl acetate, 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol, benzyl alcohol, 2‐phenylethyl alcohol, and 3‐(methylthio)‐1‐propanol, and some of their mixtures, displayed beneficial effects in A. thaliana and also improved growth and development of Agave tequilana and Agave salmiana in just 60 days. Volatiles produced by bacteria isolated from agaves and cacti are promising molecules for the sustainable production of crops in arid and semi‐arid regions.

Respiratory CO2 Combined With a Blend of Volatiles Emitted by Endophytic Serendipita Strains Strongly Stimulate Growth of Arabidopsis Implicating Auxin and Cytokinin Signaling

“…However, it was Sánchez-López et al (2016a) who truly demonstrated the generality of this microbial capacity to change plant performance through VOC emissions by testing 13 bacterial and 17 fungal phylogenetically diverse isolates, encompassing saprotrophs, beneficials and phytopathogens as well as microbes that normally do not interact with plants. In line with this finding, Camarena-Pozos et al (2019) recently revealed that approximately 90% of 40 agave- and cactus-associated bacterial strains promoted growth and development of Arabidopsis and Nicotiana benthamiana via the emission of volatiles.…”

Functional Signatures of the Epiphytic Prokaryotic Microbiome of Agaves and Cacti

“…Moreover, members of this genus also exert positive effects on the health and growth of different plants (Hornschuh et al, 2002;Abanda-Nkpwatt et al, 2006;Hellmuth and Kutschera, 2008;Madhaiyan et al, 2009;Tani et al, 2012;Kwak et al, 2014;Madhaiyan and Poonguzhali, 2014;Krishnamoorthy et al, 2018). Contrary to native plants, in the phyllosphere of A. tequilana from Amatitan the main AAP bacteria were the genus Belnapia (Rhodospirillales) that has also been linked to AAP in desert microbial crusts (Csotonyi et al, 2010) and to growth promotion of A. thaliana (Camarena-Pozos et al, 2019). We propose that AAP Methylobacterium and Belnapia can be effective colonizers of the agave and cacti phyllosphere due to their ability to utilize both chemical and luminous energy, and also influence the growth and health of agaves and cacti.…”

“…have been isolated and characterized from the rhizosphere, root and leaf endosphere, phyllosphere and seeds of A. tequilana, Agave salmiana, Myrtillocactus geometrizans and Opuntia robusta (Desgarennes et al, 2014;Fonseca-García et al, 2016). Most of these strains also produced a diverse mixture of organic volatile compounds that promote the growth of A. thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, A. tequilana and A. salmiana, including novel and known compounds which biological activity was cryptic (Camarena-Pozos et al, 2019). These studies highlighted the contribution of the agave and cacti microbiome to plant fitness and the importance of studying the microbiome of nonmodel plants.…”

Dimethyl disulfide exerts antifungal activity against Sclerotinia minor by damaging its membrane and induces systemic resistance in host plants

“…For example, Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains were reported to produce 2,3-butanediol, acetoin, 2-butanone, 2-methyl-n-1-tridecene, albuterol, 1,3 propane-di-ol, and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which improved the growth of plants by interfering with plant hormone signaling and induced systemic resistance against plant pathogens 6,[8][9][10][11] . Recently, MVCs, mainly consisting of benzyl alcohol, propanol, butanol, and other sulfur-containing compounds, were reported to improve the growth of Arabidopsis, Nicotiana, and agaves 8,12 . The root system of Arabidopsis was modulated upon exposure to the volatile DMDS, which affected the canonical auxin signaling pathway 13 .…”