Aims: A bacterial strain producing antifungal compounds active against the plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Sclerotinia has been characterized and shown to control Rhizoctonia root rot of soya bean. Methods and Results: The metabolites excreted by Bacillus BNM 122 remained active after autoclaving, were resistant over a wide pH range and to hydrolytic enzymes. By 1 H-NMR and thin-layer chromatography analyses surfactin and iturin-like compounds were partially identified. Moreover, soya bean seeds bacterization with BNM 122 in a compost-based formulation was as effective controlling Rhizoctonia solani as pentachloronitrobenzene. According to its 16S rDNA sequence BNM 122 was closely related to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus subtilis. PCR analysis of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) genomic fingerprinting revealed a close genetic relationship to B. amyloliquefaciens. However, by physiological characterization using API tests, this strain resembled more B. subtilis. Conclusions: This is the first report describing the co-production of surfactin and iturin-like compounds by a putative strain of B. amyloliquefaciens. The synergistic effect of both lipopetides is a remarkable trait for a candidate biocontrol agent. Significance and Impact of the Study: This kind of research has relevance in order to minimize the use of synthetic fungicides and surfactants, contributing to the preservation of the environment.

No abstract

This article correlates colonization with parameters, such as chemotaxis, biofilm formation, and bacterial growth, that are believed to be connected. We show here, by using two varieties of soybean plants that seeds axenically produced exudates, induced a chemotactic response in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, whereas root exudates did not, even when the exudates, also collected under axenic conditions, were concentrated up to 200-fold. Root exudates did not support bacterial cell division, whereas seed exudates contain compounds that support active cell division and high cell biomass at stationary phase. Seed exudates of the two soybean varieties also induced biofilm formation. B. amyloliquefaciens colonized both seeds and roots, and plant variety significantly affected bacterial root colonization, whereas it did not affect seed colonization. Colonization of roots in B. amyloliquefaciens occurred despite the lack of chemotaxis and growth stimulation by root exudates. The data presented in this article suggest that soybean seed colonization, but not root colonization, by B. amyloliquefaciens is influenced by chemotaxis, growth, and biofilm formation and that this may be caused by qualitative changes of the composition of root exudates.

The purpose of this study was to isolate and select indigenous soil Pseudomonas and Bacillus bacteria capable of developing multiple mechanisms of action related to the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi affecting soybean crops. The screening procedure consisted of antagonism tests against a panel of phytopathogenic fungi, taxonomic identification, detection by PCR of several genes related to antifungal activity, in vitro detection of the antifungal products, and root colonization assays. Two isolates, identified and designated as Pseudomonas fluorescens BNM296 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BNM340, were selected for further studies. These isolates protected plants against the damping-off caused by Pythium ultimum and were able to increase the seedling emergence rate after inoculation of soybean seeds with each bacterium. Also, the shoot nitrogen content was higher in plants when seeds were inoculated with BNM296. The polyphasic approach of this work allowed us to select two indigenous bacterial strains that promoted the early development of soybean plants.