Methyl t-butyl ether-degrading bacteria for bioremediation and biocontrol purposes

PLoS One. 2020 Feb 21;15(2):e0228936. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228936. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

A total of fifteen potential methyl t-butyl ether (MtBE)-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from contaminated soil. They have been identified as belonging to the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Kocuria, Janibacter, Starkeya, Bosea, Mycolicibacterium, and Rhodovarius. Bacillus aryabhattai R1B, S. novella R8b, and M. mucogenicum R8i were able to grow using MtBE as carbon source, exhibiting different growth behavior and contaminant degradation ability. Their biocontrol ability was tested against various fungal pathogens. Both S. novella R8b and B. aryabhattai were effective in reducing the development of necrotic areas on leaves within 48 hours from Botritys cinerea and Alternaria alternata inoculation. Whereas, M. mucogenicum effectively controlled B. cinerea after 72 hours. Similar results were achieved using Pythium ultimum, in which the application of isolated bacteria increased seed germination. Only M. mucogenicum elicited tomato plants resistance against B. cinerea. This is the first report describing the occurrence of bioremediation and biocontrol activities in M. mucogenicum, B. aryabhattai and S. novella species. The production of maculosin and its antibiotic activity against Rhizoctonia solani has been reported for first time from S. novella. Our results highlight the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to achieve a consistent selection of bacterial strains useful for plant protection and bioremediation purposes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alphaproteobacteria / isolation & purification
  • Alphaproteobacteria / metabolism
  • Bacillus / isolation & purification
  • Bacillus / metabolism
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteria / metabolism
  • Biodegradation, Environmental*
  • Methyl Ethers / chemistry
  • Methyl Ethers / toxicity*
  • Mycobacteriaceae / isolation & purification
  • Mycobacteriaceae / metabolism
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Rhizoctonia / growth & development
  • Soil
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Solanum lycopersicum / microbiology

Substances

  • Methyl Ethers
  • Soil
  • methyl tert-butyl ether

Supplementary concepts

  • Bacillus aryabhattai
  • Mycolicibacterium mucogenicum
  • Starkeya novella

Grants and funding

This research was supported by MIURPON grant Marea 03PE_00106, POR FESR CAMPANIA 2014/2020- O.S. 1.1 grant Bioagro 559, MISE CRESO Protection n. F/050421/01-03/X32, PSR Veneto 16.1.1 Divine n. 3589659, and MIURPON grant Linfa 03PE_00026_1. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Cosvitec scarl provided support in the form of research materials and salary to SBC, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.