A biological product of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 strain for promoting banana plant growth and modifying rhizosphere soil microbial diversity and community composition

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 14; p. 1216018
• Main Authors: Tian, Libo, Zhang, Wenlong, Zhou, Guang-Dong, Li, Shu, Wang, Yongfen, Yang, Baoming, Bai, Tingting, Fan, Huacai, He, Ping, Zheng, Si-Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 02-11-2023
• Subjects: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713; banana; Fusarium wilt of banana; growth promotion; microbial diversity and composition
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1216018

Introduction
Bananas are not only an important food crop for developing countries but also a major trading fruit for tropical and semitropical regions, maintaining a huge trade volume. Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by
Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp.
cubense
is becoming a serious challenge to the banana industry globally. Biological control has the potential to offer both effective and sustainable measures for this soil-borne disease.
Methods
In order to explore the biocontrol effects of the biological agent
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens
QST713 strain on banana plants, two cultivars, Brazilian and Yunjiao No. 1, with varied resistance to FWB, were used in greenhouse pot experiments.
Results
Results showed that the plant height and pseudostem diameter of banana-susceptible cultivar Brazilian increased by 11.68% and 11.94%, respectively, after QST713 application, while the plant height and pseudostem diameter of resistant cultivar Yunjiao No. 1 increased by 14.87% and 12.51%, respectively. The fresh weight of the two cultivars increased by 20.66% and 36.68%, respectively, indicating that this biological agent has potential effects on plant growth. Analysis of the rhizosphere soil microbial communities of two different cultivars of banana plants showed that TR4 infection and
B. amyloliquefaciens
QST713 strain application significantly affected the bacterial and fungal diversity of Yunjiao No. 1, but not in the cultivar Brazilian. In addition, TR4 infection and QST713 application changed the bacterial community composition of both banana cultivars, and the fungal community composition of Yunjiao No. 1 also changed significantly. Relevance analysis indicated that the relative richness of
Bacillus
and
Pseudomonas
in the rhizosphere of both cultivars increased significantly after QST713 application, which had a good positive correlation with plant height, pseudostem girth, aboveground fresh weight, leaf length, and leaf width.
Discussion
Therefore, the outcome of this study suggests that the biological agent QST713 strain has potential application in banana production for promoting plant growth and modification of soil microbial communities, particularly in the TR4-infected field.