The Mode of Action of Bacillus Species against Fusarium graminearum, Tools for Investigation, and Future Prospects

Abstract

Fusarium graminearum is a pervasive plant pathogenic fungal species. Biological control agents employ various strategies to weaken their targets, as shown by Bacillus species, which adopt various mechanisms, including the production of bioactive compounds, to inhibit the growth of F. graminearum. Various efforts to uncover the antagonistic mechanisms of Bacillus against F. graminearum have been undertaken and have yielded a plethora of data available in the current literature. This perspective article attempts to provide a unified record of these interesting findings. The authors provide background knowledge on the use of Bacillus as a biocontrol agent as well as details on techniques and tools for studying the antagonistic mechanism of Bacillus against F. graminearum. Emphasizing its potential as a future biological control agent with extensive use, the authors encourage future studies on Bacillus as a useful antagonist of F. graminearum and other plant pathogens. It is also recommended to take advantage of the newly invented analytical platforms for studying biochemical processes to understand the mechanism of action of Bacillus against plant pathogens in general.

Efficacy of Bacterial Isolates against Causal Agent of Late Blight of Potato, Phytophthora infestans

“…Streptomyces is a broad and highly potent inhibitory phenotype that might be competitive 'hot spots' to inhibited rice rhizosphere (Schlatter and Kinkel, 2014;Behie et al, 2017). Ntushelo et al (2019) stated that Bacillus sp. showed insignificant antagonistic activity against F. graminearum and this bacterium has potential use for Bio-agriculture to supplement the despised control measures.…”

Genome sequence analysis of Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 isolated from a Vitis vinifera (cv. Chardonnay) rhizospheric soil: an highlight on some of its biocontrol traits

“…siderophores) and lytic enzymes (i.e. chitosanases, glucanases, cellulases, proteases, chitinases) able to directly alter pathogen fitness and aggressiveness [40,47,155].…”

“…Finally, B. subtilis may produce an extensive range of antimicrobial molecules, chelators and lytic enzymes to alter pathogen fitness and aggressiveness [40][41][42][43][44]. According to literature, these beneficial molecules include ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides (RP, including the posttranslationally modified peptides RiPP), non-ribosomally synthesized peptides (NRP), polyketides (PK), as well as other uncommon antimicrobial volatile compounds (the inorganic and organic ViCs and VOCs, respectively) and other terpenoid secondary metabolites as listed in Table 1 [13,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48].…”

Biological control of fungal phytopathogens: A comprehensive review based on Bacillus species

“…Globally, biotic stresses such as pests and pathogens are main factors of threat for the production of crops and a recently study reported that crop loss about 8-40% worldwide is due to fungal pathogens. 1 Among these plant diseases, the most important economic pathogen is Fusarium species, which cause a wide range of diseases including wilts, head blights, fruit rots, and root rots. The population of disease caused by Fusarium graminearum was reported in the Netherlands, western Canada, Great Britain, Germany, northwest Europe and North America.…”