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Bacillus subtilis ALBA01 alleviates onion pink root by antagonizing the pathogen Setophoma terrestris and allowing physiological status maintenance

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Abstract

The soil-borne pathogen Setophoma terrestris is the causal agent of pink root of onion, one of the most challenging diseases in onion production. Conventional approaches for managing the disease like solarization, soil fumigation and crop rotation have not been proven effective enough. In this work, we evaluated the biocontrol capacity of Bacillus subtilis ALBA01 (BsA01) against S. terrestris, in a highly susceptible onion cultivar, both under greenhouse and field conditions. Disease incidence and severity were evaluated together with growth, photosynthesis among other physiological variables, and yield parameters. When compared with plants infected with the pathogen, those plants co-inoculated with BsA01 showed significantly less damage and levels of biocontrol above 50%. With regard to physiological parameters, plants challenged with S. terrestris and inoculated with BsA01 performed as well as the control non-infected plants revealing a growth promotion effect of BsA01 on onion plants.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by MINCyT-Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT) (grant PICT 2016 − 1926 to D.A.D). The authors are grateful to Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, IRNASUS, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, CONICET, Av. Armada Argentina 3555 (X5016DHK), Córdoba, Argentina

    Pamela Sayago, Florencia Juncosa & Andrea Georgina Albarracín Orio

  2. Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales, INTA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Darío Fernando Luna

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Gabriela Molina

  4. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Cátedra de Fitopatología, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

    Jorge Lafi

  5. Instituto de Patología Vegetal, INTA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Daniel Adrián Ducasse

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  1. Pamela Sayago
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  2. Florencia Juncosa
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  3. Andrea Georgina Albarracín Orio
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  4. Darío Fernando Luna
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  5. Gabriela Molina
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  6. Jorge Lafi
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  7. Daniel Adrián Ducasse
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Correspondence to Andrea Georgina Albarracín Orio or Daniel Adrián Ducasse.

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Supplementary Table 1

Formulae and glossary of terms used by the JIP-test in Fig. 3c. (DOCX 13 kb)

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Sayago, P., Juncosa, F., Albarracín Orio, A.G. et al. Bacillus subtilis ALBA01 alleviates onion pink root by antagonizing the pathogen Setophoma terrestris and allowing physiological status maintenance. Eur J Plant Pathol 157, 509–519 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-020-02012-x

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