Biocontrol Efficiency of Rhizospheric Bacillus against the Plant Pathogen Fusarium oxysporum: A Promising Approach for Sustainable Agriculture

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The content of the review does not fit its title: Too much emphasis is given to the description of fusarium wilt disease, and the part about the bacilli use for biocontrol is a quite chaotic listing of published results on the subject. The review does not provide a clear nor organized understanding of the actual knowledge on the subject. The terminology PGPB and BCA is not accurately used. In addition, pathogenicity of Fo f. sp. has been described and analyzed in many previous works. The description here is too superficial and contains non accurate elements, e.g., Fo fungi are in majority saprophytic nonpathogenic fungi and should not be assimilated to Fo f. sp. pathogens.

Author Response

Comments: The content of the review does not fit its title: Too much emphasis is given to the description of fusarium wilt disease, and the part about the bacilli use for biocontrol is a quite chaotic listing of published results on the subject. The review does not provide a clear nor organized understanding of the actual knowledge on the subject. The terminology PGPB and BCA is not accurately used. In addition, pathogenicity of Fo f. sp. has been described and analyzed in many previous works. The description here is too superficial and contains non accurate elements, e.g., Fo fungi are in majority saprophytic nonpathogenic fungi and should not be assimilated to Fo f. sp. pathogens.

Response: It is evident that several reviews are available on biocontrol, but in our work, we have focused on discussing biocontrol of the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum by bacteria of the genus Bacillus. Therefore, we have tried to specifically describe the aspects related to F. oxysporum and Bacillus.

Reviewer 2 Report

This ms is well-organized and well-worth-publishing. In this manuscript, the authors well summarized Bacillus as biocontrol agents for Fusarium wilt disease. The manuscript is carefully prepared and presented. The manuscript is based on solid methods, and the results are convincing and justified. The publication is recommended after minor revision.

It is difficult to find any areas where one could suggest great improvements to the text.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer

Thanks for your kind comments and your evaluation about our paper.

Regards

Reviewer 3 Report

Rhizospheric Bacilli: Plant wardens against Fusarium oxysporum

Sarah Boulahouat, Hafsa Cherif-Silini, Allaoua Silini, Ali Chenari Bouket, Lenka Luptakova, Faizah N. Alenezi and Lassaad Belbahri

General Comments :

The review aims to provide a description of the plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum, which is responsible for causing vascular wilt or root rot in various crops. It also discusses the biological control of this fungal pathogen, primarily through the utilization of Bacillus species. Furthermore, the review explores the parameters that might influence the effective screening of microbial biopesticides. The scope of this review is indeed highly interesting and remains significant for the advancement of sustainable agriculture. The utilization of biological control agents continues to pose challenges for researchers, industries, and farmers alike. 

In my opinion, the manuscript requires significant revision and improvement before it can be considered for publication. I have provided some major comments below:

Comment 1: The manuscript discusses three main aims: the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum, the management of this plant pathogen using biological control agents (BCAs), primarily Bacillus strains, and the parameters for BCA selection. While the information provided for each aim is interesting, the manuscript lacks in-depth analysis of each topic and fails to establish a strong connection between the three points. Additionally, the authors predominantly provide general information instead of thoroughly analyzing specific studies and works related to each aim.

Suggested revision: The manuscript should be revised to provide a more comprehensive analysis of each aim individually, including a detailed examination of relevant studies and works. Moreover, the authors should strive to establish clearer connections and interrelationships between the three points discussed in the manuscript. This would enhance the overall depth and coherence of the manuscript's content. Some suggested references to include: Ahmed et al., 2022  Biocontrol of plant pathogens in omics erawith special focus on endophytic bacilli https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2023.2183379 ; Yang et al., 2022  Insights into intracellular signaling network in Fusarium species https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.211 ; Poulaki and Tjamos, 2023 Bacillus species: factories of plant protective volatile organic compounds https://doi.org/10.1093/jambio/lxad037

Comment 2: The current title of the manuscript does not accurately reflect its content and should be revised. It is suggested to consider a more general title that encompasses Fusarium oxysporum, its pathogenicity in plants, and the use of biological control as a management approach. This revised title would better align with the scope of the manuscript and attract the appropriate readership. The authors should propose a more suitable title that effectively captures the essence of their work.

Comment 3 : The manuscript contains numerous grammar and language errors that need to be addressed. It is highly recommended to thoroughly revise the manuscript by a native English-speaking person or a professional language editor. This revision should focus on correcting grammar, improving sentence structure, and enhancing overall language clarity.

Other specific comments are included in the attached revised proof of the manuscript 

Comments for author File: Comments.docx

Author Response

Comment 1: The manuscript discusses three main aims: the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum, the management of this plant pathogen using biological control agents (BCAs), primarily Bacillus strains, and the parameters for BCA selection. While the information provided for each aim is interesting, the manuscript lacks in-depth analysis of each topic and fails to establish a strong connection between the three points. Additionally, the authors predominantly provide general information instead of thoroughly analyzing specific studies and works related to each aim.

Response : the correction has been done and  we will carefully review the existing content and incorporate additional information to support our work. This approach will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum, the effectiveness of Bacillus strains as biological control agents, and the parameters for BCA selection.

The references related to the subjecte were added to manuscript

Comment 2: The current title of the manuscript does not accurately reflect its content and should be revised. It is suggested to consider a more general title that encompasses Fusarium oxysporum, its pathogenicity in plants, and the use of biological control as a management approach. This revised title would better align with the scope of the manuscript and attract the appropriate readership. The authors should propose a more suitable title that effectively captures the essence of their work.

Response:  the tittle has been changed as your suggested.

Comment 3 : The manuscript contains numerous grammar and language errors that need to be addressed. It is highly recommended to thoroughly revise the manuscript by a native English-speaking person or a professional language editor. This revision should focus on correcting grammar, improving sentence structure, and enhancing overall language clarity.

Response: the correction has been done  

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The review remains too general. It describes two subjects, wilt diseases caused by formae specialis of Fusarium oxysporum on one hand and Bacilli spp as biocontrol agents on the other hand. It does not provide organised information about the use of the bacteria against the disease and therefore does not fulfill the expectation provided in the title. 

Author Response

I thank the reviewers for their comments on the manuscript.   I have taken into consideration your suggestion to reduce the first half of the manuscript, which deals with Fusarium, in order to put more emphasis on the main objective of the review. The conclusion has been rewritten incorporating perspectives to improve the overall impact of the manuscript.

All changes in the text are highlighted.

 Reviewer 1

The review remains too general. It describes two subjects, wilt diseases caused by formae specialis of Fusarium oxysporum on one hand and Bacilli spp as biocontrol agents on the other hand. It does not provide organised information about the use of the bacteria against the disease and therefore does not fulfill the expectation provided in the title. 

The review has been rewrited and the section dealing with fusarium diseases has been resumed. Fusarium has been briefly described as the pathogen on which Bacillus acts. The tittle has been changed as requested.

Reviewer 3 Report

I would like to express my gratitude to the authors for taking the comments into consideration. However, after carefully reviewing the new proof, I have noticed that the title remains unchanged. I kindly request the authors to reconsider the title.

Furthermore, there is still room for improvement in the quality of the English language used in the paper. Several examples of this are highlighted in the attached PDF document.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

here are some examples of the quality of the English language : 

Abstract: "among management strategies"; The authors should specify plante disease management strategies,

Introduction: " Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) is a soil-borne plant pathogen allowing it to occupy different ecological niches in various geographic regions" can be improved to "Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) is a soil-borne plant pathogen that possesses the ability to inhabit diverse ecological niches across various geographic regions"

please see the attached PDF document for more examples to check and improve

Author Response

Reviewer 3

I would like to express my gratitude to the authors for taking the comments into consideration. However, after carefully reviewing the new proof, I have noticed that the title remains unchanged. I kindly request the authors to reconsider the title.

Furthermore, there is still room for improvement in the quality of the English language used in the paper. Several examples of this are highlighted in the attached PDF document.

Thank you for making these corrections. all suggestions have been taken into consideration.

The tittle has been changed