Inhibitory effect and possible mechanism of a Pseudomonas strain QBA5 against gray mold on tomato leaves and fruits caused by Botrytis cinerea

PLoS One. 2018 Jan 10;13(1):e0190932. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190932. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold disease on various hosts, which results in serious economic losses. Over the past several decades, many kinds of fungicides have been used to successfully control the disease. Meanwhile, the uses of fungicides lead to environmental pollution as well as a potential threat to the human health by the chemical residues in tomato fruit. Also, the gray mold disease is difficult to control with fungicides. Therefore, exploring alternative measures such as biological controls could be the best choice to control the disease and alleviate damages caused by fungicides. In this study, we isolated and identified a novel Pseudomonas strain termed as QBA5 from healthy tomato plant based on the morphological, biochemical characteristics and molecular detection. The antifungal activity assays revealed that, in the presence of QBA5, conidia germination, germ tube elongation and mycelial growth of B. cinerea were significantly inhibited. Most importantly, QBA5 exerted a significant preventive effectiveness against gray mold on tomato fruits and plants. The possible mechanism of QBA5 involved in the inhibition of B. cinerea was investigated. It revealed that the conidia plasma membrane of B. cinerea was severely damaged by QBA5. Further, four different antifungal compounds in the supernatant of QBA5 were separated by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (PHPLC). Overall, the data indicate that there is a considerable potential for QBA5 to reduce the damage caused by gray mold disease on tomato.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibiosis*
  • Antifungal Agents / chemistry
  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology
  • Botrytis / drug effects
  • Botrytis / physiology*
  • Cell Membrane / drug effects
  • Cell Membrane / physiology
  • Culture Media / chemistry
  • Fruit / drug effects
  • Fruit / microbiology*
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Plant Diseases / prevention & control
  • Plant Diseases / therapy
  • Plant Leaves / drug effects
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology*
  • Pseudomonas / isolation & purification
  • Pseudomonas / physiology*
  • Solanum lycopersicum / drug effects
  • Solanum lycopersicum / microbiology*
  • Spores, Fungal / drug effects
  • Spores, Fungal / physiology

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Culture Media

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0201104) and the Key R&D Program of Shandong Province (2016GNC111014).