Welcome to Chinese Journal of Biological Control,Today is

journal1 ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (5): 650-657.DOI: 10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2017.05.011

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Colonization Dynamics and Growth Promotion Effect of Bacillus subtilis VD18R19 in Black Pepper Plant and Its Biological Control Effects on Phytophthora Rot Disease

GAO Shengfeng, LIU Aiqin, SANG Liwei, GOU Yafeng, SUN Shiwei, WANG Zheng, MENG Qianqian   

  1. Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Genetic Improvement and Quality Regulation for Tropical Spice and Beverage Crops/Institute of Spice and Beverage Research, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wanning 571533, China
  • Received:2017-04-19 Online:2017-10-08 Published:2017-10-11

Abstract: Colonization is an important factor for application of beneficial Bacillus genus bacteria, however, colonization of B. subtilis in black pepper has not been reported yet. In this study, B. subtilis VD18R19 was applied to black pepper plants to investigate the colonization dynamics, growth promotion effect and the biological control effects on Phytophthora rot disease. To evaluate colonization ability, strain VD18R19 was labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Green fluorescent light could be observed from the GFP-tagged strain under microscope, and the genetic stability was 85.33% after 120 generations. Distinct colonization tendencies were exhibited when treated by leaf spraying and root irrigating. At rhizosphere, increased colonization was initially observed over time to the 9th day, followed by decreased levels to the 21st day that were subsequently maintained at a stable level for the duration of the experiment. The population densities of VD18R19 were at 106 CFU/g level through the experiment. At leaf surface, the colonization was decreased quickly, and few stains could be detected after 21 days. In the absence of pathogen, the VD18R19 treatments could significantly increase the plant height, leaf number and fresh weight, with the promotion rates of 61.71%, 36.18% and 106.43%, respectively. When challenging the pathogen Phytophthora capsici, plants treated by VD18R19 showed much lower disease incidence and less severe disease symptoms, with the control efficiency of 76.86%. The results are useful for development and application of B. subtilis in the future.

Key words: Bacillus subtilis, black pepper Phytophthora rot, colonization, biocontrol, growth promotion

CLC Number: