Bacterial and fungal endophyte communities in healthy and diseased oilseed rape and their potential for biocontrol of Sclerotinia and Phoma disease

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 3810
• Main Authors: Schmidt, C. S., Mrnka, L., Lovecká, P., Frantík, T., Fenclová, M., Demnerová, K., Vosátka, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 15-02-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/61/447; 704/158/2456; 704/158/670; 704/158/855; Achromobacter; Bacteria; Biological control; Cotyledons; Disease; Endophytes; Enterobacter; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inoculum; Leptosphaeria; multidisciplinary; Oilseeds; Phoma; Plant diseases; Plant growth; Pseudomonas; Rape plants; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Serratia; Shoots; Siderophores; Solubilization; Stem canker; Stenotrophomonas
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81937-7

Phoma
stem canker (caused by the ascomycetes
Leptosphaeria maculans and Leptosphaeria biglobosa
) is an important disease of oilseed rape. Its effect on endophyte communities in roots and shoots and the potential of endophytes to promote growth and control diseases of oilseed rape (OSR) was investigated.
Phoma
stem canker had a large effect especially on fungal but also on bacterial endophyte communities. Dominant bacterial genera were
Pseudomonas
, followed by
Enterobacter
,
Serratia
,
Stenotrophomonas
,
Bacillus
and
Staphylococcus
.
Achromobacter
,
Pectobacter
and
Sphingobacterium
were isolated only from diseased plants, though in very small numbers. The fungal genera
Cladosporium
,
Botrytis
and
Torula
were dominant in healthy plants whereas
Alternaria
,
Fusarium
and
Basidiomycetes
(
Vishniacozyma
,
Holtermaniella
,
Bjerkandera
/
Thanatephorus
) occurred exclusively in diseased plants. Remarkably,
Leptosphaeria biglobosa
could be isolated in large numbers from shoots of both healthy and diseased plants. Plant growth promoting properties (antioxidative activity, P-solubilisation, production of phytohormones and siderophores) were widespread in OSR endophytes. Although none of the tested bacterial endophytes (
Achromobacter, Enterobacter
,
Pseudomonas
,
Serratia
and
Stenotrophomonas
) promoted growth of oilseed rape under P-limiting conditions or controlled
Phoma
disease on oilseed rape cotyledons, they significantly reduced incidence of
Sclerotinia
disease. In the field, a combined inoculum consisting of
Achromobacter piechaudii
, two pseudomonads and
Stenotrophomonas rhizophila
tendencially increased OSR yield and reduced
Phoma
stem canker.