Biological Control Agents Against Fusarium Wilt of Banana

Abstract

In the last century, the banana crop and industry experienced dramatic losses due to an epidemic of Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense ( Foc ) race 1. An even more dramatic menace is now feared due to the spread of Foc tropical race 4. Plant genetic resistance is generally considered as the most plausible strategy for controlling effectively such a devastating disease, as occurred for the first round of FWB epidemic. Nevertheless, with at least 182 articles published since 1970, biological control represents a large body of knowledge on FWB. Remarkably, many studies deal with biological control agents (BCAs) that reached the field-testing stage and even refer to high effectiveness. Some selected BCAs have been repeatedly assayed in independent trials, suggesting their promising value. Overall under field conditions, FWB has been controlled up to 79% by using Pseudomonas spp. strains, and up to 70% by several endophytes and Trichoderma spp. strains. Lower biocontrol efficacy (42–55%) has been obtained with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Bacillus spp., and non-pathogenic Fusarium strains. Studies on Streptomyces spp. have been mostly limited to in vitro conditions so far, with very few pot-experiments, and none conducted in the field. The BCAs have been applied with diverse procedures (e.g., spore suspension, organic amendments, bioformulations, etc.) and at different stages of plant development (i.e., in vitro , nursery, at transplanting, post-transplanting), but there has been no evidence for a protocol better than another. Nonetheless, new bioformulation technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, formulation of microbial consortia and/or their metabolites, etc.) and tailor-made consortia of microbial strains should be encouraged. In conclusion, the literature offers many examples of promising BCAs, suggesting that biocontrol can greatly contribute to limit the damage caused by FWB. More efforts should be done to further validate the currently available outcomes, to deepen the knowledge on the most valuable BCAs, and to improve their efficacy by setting up effective formulations, application protocols, and integrated strategies.

Isolation, identification, and assessment of soil bacteria as biocontrol agents of pea root rot caused by Aphanomyces euteiches

“…This observation is consistent with the findings of Wakelin et al (2002). The variation of antagonistic potential among isolates suggests that different isolates produced different kinds of inhibitory metabolites, as indicated by others (Kim et al 2011;Ahemad and Kibret 2014;Bubici et al 2019).…”

Genome Mining Revealed a High Biosynthetic Potential for Antifungal Streptomyces sp. S-2 Isolated from Black Soot

“…Recently, there have been a number of reports of new Streptomyces strains isolated from extreme and non-conventional environments that are showing antimicrobial activity [1,13,24,25]. Streptomyces strains have also been previously studied for their potential to protect plants against fungal infections [2,35]. One example is S. lydicus WYEC 108, a bioactive compound in antifungal product sold in the United States, for agricultural use [49].…”

“…Another example is S. violaceusniger YCED9, which produces antifungal agents able to combat various plant pathogens, including members of Fusarium, Phythium, and Phytophthora genera [50]. On the other hand, field trials to use Streptomyces strains as a biocontrol agent in banana wilt disease are have not yet been reported [35].…”

Marchitez por Fusarium raza tropical 4: Estado actual y presencia en el continente americano

“…Las plantas madres infectadas pueden contaminar a los retoños con las estructuras fúngicas que pueden estar en forma asintomática (Dita et al, 2018), pero representan una fuente de inóculo. La dispersión rápida de Foc, por hijos asintomáticos, fue determinante para la propagación de Foc R1 que devastó las bananas de Gros Michel en el siglo pasado (Pérez, 2004;Dita et al, 2018;Bubici et al, 2019). Por cuanto el material de siembra ha sido y sigue siendo uno de los factores más importantes y determinantes para la difusión de la enfermedad (Dita et al, 2010;2018;Bubici et al, 2019).…”

“…La dispersión rápida de Foc, por hijos asintomáticos, fue determinante para la propagación de Foc R1 que devastó las bananas de Gros Michel en el siglo pasado (Pérez, 2004;Dita et al, 2018;Bubici et al, 2019). Por cuanto el material de siembra ha sido y sigue siendo uno de los factores más importantes y determinantes para la difusión de la enfermedad (Dita et al, 2010;2018;Bubici et al, 2019). Existe la posibilidad de otras vías de diseminación, al respecto Dita et al (2018), señalaron que existen reportes sobre hallazgos de estructuras del patógeno en el peciolo y ADN en las hojas; mientras que Bubici et al (2019), indicaron referencias sobre otras especies de Fusarium, que pueden ser diseminadas a través de las frutas, relacionándose con las medidas implementadas por Australia para el control de frutas proveniente de Filipinas, asumiendo que Foc RT4 podría moverse a través de infecciones asintomáticas en las coronas de los clúster o manos.…”