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Rhizocompetence and antagonistic activity towards genetically diverse Ralstonia solanacearum strains – an improved strategy for selecting biocontrol agents

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Abstract

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a serious threat for agricultural production in China. Eight soil bacterial isolates with activity against R. solanacearum TM15 (biovar 3) were tested in this study for their in vitro activity towards ten genetically diverse R. solanacearum isolates from China. The results indicated that each antagonist showed remarkable differences in its ability to in vitro antagonize the ten different R. solanacearum strains. Strain XY21 (based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing affiliated to Serratia) was selected for further studies based on its in vitro antagonistic activity and its excellent rhizocompetence on tomato plants. Under greenhouse conditions XY21 mediated biocontrol of tomato wilt caused by seven different R. solanacearum strains ranged from 19 to 70 %. The establishment of XY21 and its effects on the bacterial community in the tomato rhizosphere were monitored by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA gene fragments PCR-amplified from total community DNA. A positive correlation of the in vitro antagonistic activities of XY21 and the actual biocontrol efficacies towards seven genetically different R. solanacearum strains was found and further confirmed by the efficacy of XY21 in controlling bacterial wilt under field conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This research was performed in the frame of the bilateral project 17 supported by the Chinese Ministry for Agriculture and the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Furthermore, the work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30971956, 31171809).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, College of Plant Protection, Engineering Center of Bioresource Pesticide in Jiangsu Province; Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Nanjing Agricultural University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Qing-Yun Xue, Shi-Mo Li, Yang Yang & Jian-Hua Guo

  2. Julius Kühn-Institut - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKI), Messeweg 11/12, D-38104, Braunschweig, Germany

    Qing-Yun Xue, Guo-Chun Ding & Kornelia Smalla

  3. Huaiyin Teachers College, Huai’an, Jiangsu province, 223001, China

    Shi-Mo Li

  4. Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian province, 350001, China

    Cheng-Zhong Lan

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  1. Qing-Yun Xue
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Xue, QY., Ding, GC., Li, SM. et al. Rhizocompetence and antagonistic activity towards genetically diverse Ralstonia solanacearum strains – an improved strategy for selecting biocontrol agents. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 1361–1371 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4021-4

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