Biocontrol Effect and Mechanism of Pantoea dispersa KRS883 on Cotton Verticillium Wilt

doi:10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2026.02.045

Abstract

Abstract: Cotton Verticillium wilt, caused by the soilborne vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae, poses a significant threat to the sustainable development of the cotton industry. In this study, a bacterial strain KRS883 was isolated from the seeds of the cotton variety ‘Sumian 9', which exhibits strong antagonistic activity against V. dahliae. Through morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the fusA, rplB, and rpoB gene sequences, KRS883 was identified as Pantoea dispersa. Plate confrontation assays showed that this strain exhibits broad-spectrum antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic fungi, achieving up to 86.30% inhibition rate against V. dahliae. Furthermore, KRS883 exhibited significant environmental adaptability, thriving under pH levels ranging from 4 to 10 and tolerating high NaCl concentration of 1400 mmol/L. It also possesses multiple plant growth-promoting traits, including phosphate and potassium solubilization, nitrogen fixation, siderophore production, and indole-3-acetic acid(IAA) secretion. Pot experiments revealed that treatment with KRS883 significantly reduced the disease index of cotton Verticillium wilt from 97.92 in the control group to 54.86, while substantially decreasing the relative colonization of the pathogen in cotton roots. Additionally, KRS883 was found to disrupt the hyphal morphology and cellular structure of V. dahliae and to induce significant upregulation of systemic resistance-related genes(NbHIN1, NbGLNb, NbPR1, NbPR2, NbPR4, NbPR5, and NbLOX) in tobacco. Collectively, these results indicate that P. dispersa KRS883 is a promising biocontrol agent, characterized by high antagonistic activity, multiple plant growth-promoting properties, and the ability to induce plant resistance, making it a strong candidate for the environmentally friendly management of cotton Verticillium wilt.

Key words: cotton Verticillium wilt, Verticillium dahliae, biological control, Pantoea dispersa, growth-promoting characteristics, induced resistance

CLC Number:

S476

LIU Huizi, CHEN Deyong, ZHU He, LIU Zheng, SONG Jian, CHEN Jieyin, WANG Dan, ZHANG Dandan. Biocontrol Effect and Mechanism of Pantoea dispersa KRS883 on Cotton Verticillium Wilt[J]. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 2026, 42(4): 898-910.

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