Evaluation potential of PGPR to protect tomato against Fusarium wilt and promote plant growth

Rizwana Begum Syed Nabi; Raheem Shahzad; Rupesh Tayade; Muhammad Shahid; Adil Hussain; Muhammad Waqas Ali; Byung-Wook Yun

doi:10.7717/peerj.11194

Evaluation potential of PGPR to protect tomato against Fusarium wilt and promote plant growth

PeerJ. 2021 Apr 16:9:e11194. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11194. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Rizwana Begum Syed Nabi^#^{1

2}, Raheem Shahzad^#³, Rupesh Tayade⁴, Muhammad Shahid¹, Adil Hussain⁵, Muhammad Waqas Ali⁶, Byung-Wook Yun¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics, School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
² Department of Southern Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural; Development Administration, Miryang, South Korea.
³ Department of Horticulture, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan.
⁴ Laboratory of Plant Breeding, School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Agriculture,, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
⁶ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Soilborne fungal diseases are most common among vegetable crops and have major implications for crop yield and productivity. Eco-friendly sustainable agriculture practices that can overcome biotic and abiotic stresses are of prime importance. In this study, we evaluated the ability of plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) Bacillus aryabhattai strain SRB02 to control the effects of tomato wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (strain KACC40032) and promote plant growth. In vitro bioassays showed significant inhibition of fungal growth by SRB02. Inoculation of susceptible and tolerant tomato cultivars in the presence of SRB02 showed significant protection of the cultivar that was susceptible to infection and promotion of plant growth and biomass production in both of the cultivars. Further analysis of SRB02-treated plants revealed a significantly higher production of amino acids following infection by F. oxysporum. Analysis of plant defense hormones after inoculation by the pathogen revealed a significantly higher accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), with a concomitant reduction in jasmonic acid (JA). These results indicate that B. aryabhattai strain SRB02 reduces the effects of Fusarium wilt disease in tomato by modulating endogenous phytohormones and amino acid levels.

Keywords: Plant growth; SRB02; Tomato; Tomato wilt; Bacillus aryabhattai; Fusarium oxysporum; PGPR.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program Rural Development Administration, (SSAC, Grant NO. PJ01242501), Republic of Korea. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.