Advanced Research on Biological Control of Plant Disease or Microbial Interactions 2.0

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Microbe Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 3645

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/I, Graz 8010, Austria
Interests: plant microbiota; plant–microbe interactions; metagenomics; biological control; microbial VOCs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Plant Protection (IPP), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China
Interests: mechanism of biosynthesis regulation of streptomyces; development and utilization of agricultural microorganisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant diseases are caused by a large number of plant pathogens, with fungi, bacteria, and virus being the main cause of the loss of crop yield and quality worldwide. Although several control strategies were developed to reduce the negative effects of plant diseases, biological control remains an environmentally friendly and cost-effective green technique in environmental protection and agricultural production; it generally uses selected bioresources, including beneficial microorganisms. This Special Issue will offer comprehensive coverage of the general principles and advances in the “Biological Control of Plant Disease or Microbial interactions”. I welcome and invite authors to submit a review article, original research article, or short communication on topics related to the modes of action and applications of biocontrol agents in the control of plant diseases, interactions between plant pathogens and biocontrol agents, and an understanding of biological control agents and their mechanisms.

Reviews, original research articles, and communications are all welcome.

The Special Issue entitled "Advanced Research on Biological Control of Plant Disease or Microbial interactions 2.0" is the extension volume of its original Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms/special_issues/biological_control_disease_interactions), aims to present the latest research findings on any aspect of biological control. Some of the main topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Interactions between plant pathogens and biocontrol agents;
  2. The functional study of pathogenesis-related genes or effectors;
  3. Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs);
  4. PGPR or PGPF related to ISR and plant growth promotion;
  5. Modes of action and applications of biocontrol agents to control plant diseases;
  6. The role of secondary metabolites and biocontrol agents in plant–pathogen interactions;
  7. Advances in the understanding of biological control agents and their mechanisms; 
  8. Metagenomics approaches in systems microbiology.

Dr. Tomislav Cernava
Dr. Beibei Ge
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4949 KiB  
Article
Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Novel Insights about the Biocontrol Potential of Burkholderia ambifaria CF3 on Atractylodes lancea
by Yongxi Du, Tielin Wang, Chaogeng Lv, Binbin Yan, Xiufu Wan, Sheng Wang, Chuanzhi Kang, Lanping Guo and Luqi Huang
Microorganisms 2024, 12(6), 1043; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12061043 - 22 May 2024
Viewed by 130
Abstract
Root rot caused by Fusarium spp. is the most destructive disease on Atractylodes lancea, one of the large bulks and most common traditional herbal plants in China. In this study, we isolated a bacterial strain, CF3, from the rhizosphere soil of A. [...] Read more.
Root rot caused by Fusarium spp. is the most destructive disease on Atractylodes lancea, one of the large bulks and most common traditional herbal plants in China. In this study, we isolated a bacterial strain, CF3, from the rhizosphere soil of A. lancea and determined its inhibitory effects on F. oxysporum in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. To deeply explore the biocontrol potential of CF3, we sequenced the whole genome and investigated the key pathways for the biosynthesis of many antibiotic compounds. The results revealed that CF3 is a member of Burkholderia ambifaria, harboring two chromosomes and one plasmid as other strains in this species. Five antibiotic compounds were found that could be synthesized due to the existence of the bio-synthesis pathways in the genome. Furthermore, the synthesis of antibiotic compounds should be confirmed by in vitro experiments and novel compounds should be purified and characterized in further studies. Full article
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23 pages, 11016 KiB  
Article
Role of Volatile Organic Compounds Produced by Kosakonia cowanii Cp1 during Competitive Colonization Interaction against Pectobacterium aroidearum SM2
by Mayra Paola Mena Navarro, Merle Ariadna Espinosa Bernal, Adriana Eunice Martinez-Avila, Leonela Sofia Aponte Pineda, Luis Alberto Montes Flores, Carlos Daniel Chan Ku, Yoali Fernanda Hernández Gómez, Jacqueline González Espinosa, Juan Ramiro Pacheco Aguilar, Miguel Ángel Ramos López, Jackeline Lizzeta Arvizu Gómez, Carlos Saldaña Gutierrez, José Alberto Rodríguez Morales, Aldo Amaro Reyes, José Luis Hernández Flores and Juan Campos Guillén
Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050930 - 3 May 2024
Viewed by 532
Abstract
The competitive colonization of bacteria on similar ecological niches has a significant impact during their establishment. The synthesis speeds of different chemical classes of molecules during early competitive colonization can reduce the number of competitors through metabolic effects. In this work, we demonstrate [...] Read more.
The competitive colonization of bacteria on similar ecological niches has a significant impact during their establishment. The synthesis speeds of different chemical classes of molecules during early competitive colonization can reduce the number of competitors through metabolic effects. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time that Kosakonia cowanii Cp1 previously isolated from the seeds of Capsicum pubescens R. P. produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during competitive colonization against Pectobacterium aroidearum SM2, affecting soft rot symptoms in serrano chili (Capsicum annuum L.). The pathogen P. aroidearum SM2 was isolated from the fruits of C. annuum var. Serrano with soft rot symptoms. The genome of the SM2 strain carries a 5,037,920 bp chromosome with 51.46% G + C content and 4925 predicted protein-coding genes. It presents 12 genes encoding plant-cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCDEWs), 139 genes involved in five types of secretion systems, and 16 genes related to invasion motility. Pathogenic essays showed soft rot symptoms in the fruits of C. annuum L., Solanum lycopersicum, and Physalis philadelphica and the tubers of Solanum tuberosum. During the growth phases of K. cowanii Cp1, a mix of VOCs was identified by means of HS-SPME-GC-MS. Of these compounds, 2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine showed bactericidal effects and synergy with acetoin during the competitive colonization of K. cowanii Cp1 to completely reduce soft rot symptoms. This work provides novel evidence grounding a better understanding of bacterial interactions during competitive colonization on plant tissue, where VOC synthesis is essential and has a high potential capacity to control pathogenic microorganisms in agricultural systems. Full article
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15 pages, 3224 KiB  
Article
Application of Rice Straw Inhibits Clubroot Disease by Regulating the Microbial Community in Soil
by Zhe Han, Yiping Zhang, Chengqian Di, Hongwen Bi and Kai Pan
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040717 - 1 Apr 2024
Viewed by 628
Abstract
Straw return is an effective agricultural management practice for alleviating soil sickness, but only a few studies have focused on the incorporation of straw with deep plowing and rotary tillage practices in vegetable production. To determine the effects of rice straw return on [...] Read more.
Straw return is an effective agricultural management practice for alleviating soil sickness, but only a few studies have focused on the incorporation of straw with deep plowing and rotary tillage practices in vegetable production. To determine the effects of rice straw return on Chinese cabbage clubroot, a field experiment for three consecutive years in the same area was performed. Soil microbial high-throughput sequencing, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other methods were used to detect Chinese cabbage plant growth, clubroot occurrence, soil chemical properties and soil microbial diversity and abundance. The results showed that straw addition could significantly reduce the clubroot disease incidence. Through Illumina Miseq sequencing, the diversity of the fungi decreased obviously. The relative abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes was strikingly reduced, while that of Chloroflexi was significantly increased. Redundancy analysis suggests that soil properties may also affect the soil microbial composition; changes in the microbial structure of bacteria and fungi were associated with the available phosphorus. In conclusion, the continuous addition of rice straw can promote the growth and control the occurrence of clubroot, which is closely related to the microbial composition, and the inhibition effect is proportional to the age of addition. Full article
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13 pages, 5366 KiB  
Article
Effects of 2-Phenylethanol on Controlling the Development of Fusarium graminearum in Wheat
by Shufang Sun, Nawen Tang, Kun Han, Qunqing Wang and Qian Xu
Microorganisms 2023, 11(12), 2954; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11122954 - 10 Dec 2023
Viewed by 951
Abstract
Applying plant-derived fungicides is a safe and sustainable way to control wheat scab. In this study, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of wheat cultivars with and without the resistance gene Fhb1 were analyzed by GC-MS, and 2-phenylethanol was screened out. The biocontrol function of [...] Read more.
Applying plant-derived fungicides is a safe and sustainable way to control wheat scab. In this study, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of wheat cultivars with and without the resistance gene Fhb1 were analyzed by GC-MS, and 2-phenylethanol was screened out. The biocontrol function of 2-phenylethanol on Fusarium graminearum was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Metabolomics analysis indicated that 2-phenylethanol altered the amino acid pathways of F. graminearum, affecting its normal life activities. Under SEM and TEM observation, the mycelial morphology changed, and the integrity of the cell membrane was destroyed. Furthermore, 2-phenylethanol could inhibit the production of mycotoxins (DON, 3-ADON, 15-ADON) by F. graminearum and reduce grain contamination. This research provides new ideas for green prevention and control of wheat FHB in the field. Full article
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20 pages, 3597 KiB  
Article
Avirulent Isolates of Penicillium chrysogenum to Control the Blue Mold of Apple Caused by P. expansum
by Holly P. Bartholomew, Dianiris Luciano-Rosario, Michael J. Bradshaw, Verneta L. Gaskins, Hui Peng, Jorge M. Fonseca and Wayne M. Jurick II
Microorganisms 2023, 11(11), 2792; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11112792 - 17 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1042
Abstract
Blue mold is an economically significant postharvest disease of pome fruit that is primarily caused by Penicillium expansum. To manage this disease and sustain product quality, novel decay intervention strategies are needed that also maintain long-term efficacy. Biocontrol organisms and natural products [...] Read more.
Blue mold is an economically significant postharvest disease of pome fruit that is primarily caused by Penicillium expansum. To manage this disease and sustain product quality, novel decay intervention strategies are needed that also maintain long-term efficacy. Biocontrol organisms and natural products are promising tools for managing postharvest diseases. Here, two Penicillium chrysogenum isolates, 404 and 413, were investigated as potential biocontrol agents against P. expansum in apple. Notably, 404 and 413 were non-pathogenic in apple, yet they grew vigorously in vitro when compared to the highly aggressive P. expansum R19 and Pe21 isolates. Whole-genome sequencing and species-specific barcoding identified both strains as P. chrysogenum. Each P. chrysogenum strain was inoculated in apple with the subsequent co-inoculation of R19 or Pe21 simultaneously, 3, or 7 days after prior inoculation with 404 or 413. The co-inoculation of these isolates showed reduced decay incidence and severity, with the most significant reduction from the longer establishment of P. chrysogenum. In vitro growth showed no antagonism between species, further suggesting competitive niche colonization as the mode of action for decay reduction. Both P. chrysogenum isolates had incomplete patulin gene clusters but tolerated patulin treatment. Finally, hygromycin resistance was observed for both P. chrysogenum isolates, yet they are not multiresistant to apple postharvest fungicides. Overall, we demonstrate the translative potential of P. chrysogenum to serve as an effective biocontrol agent against blue mold decay in apples, pending practical optimization and formulation. Full article
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