Journal Article

Seed inoculation with endophytic fungal entomopathogens promotes plant growth and reduces crown and root rot (CRR) caused by Fusarium culmorum in wheat

Jaber, Lara R.

2018

Overview

An upsurge of research hints at the ability of entomopathogenic fungi, almost exclusively considered and used as insect pathogens, to endophytically colonize the internal tissues of a wide array of host plants and subsequently confer numerous benefits including enhancement of plant growth and suppression of disease pathogens. Such an ability has mainly been investigated for Beauveria bassiana. Fewer studies have demonstrated plant growth promotion by Metarhizium brunneum colonization, whereas no studies have reported on the potential of endophytic M. brunneum as a plant disease antagonist. The present study was, therefore, conducted to investigate whether seed treatment with B. bassiana (NATURALIS) and M. brunneum (BIPESCO5) could result in their endophytic establishment in wheat and promote plant growth. The study further examines the effect of the fungal strains as endophytes against Fusarium culmorum, one of the main causal agents of crown and root rot (CRR) in wheat. Both B. bassiana and M. brunneum were able to systemically colonize roots and shoots of wheat, and promote several plant growth parameters (shoot height, root length, and fresh root and shoot weights). Moreover, endophytic colonization of wheat with either fungal entomopathogen resulted in a significant reduction in disease incidence, development and severity. These results support the notion of the multiple ecological roles that could further be played by entomopathogenic fungi. Bearing such additional roles in mind while developing these fungi as microbial agents could improve the value of many commercially available mycoinsecticides.

• Publisher: Springer Science + Business Media,Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Agriculture / Animals / antagonists / Beauveria - physiology / Beauveria bassiana / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Colonization / disease incidence / Ecological effects / Ecology / Endophytes / Entomopathogenic fungi / Forestry / Fungi / Fusarium / Fusarium - pathogenicity / Fusarium culmorum / growth promotion / Host plants / Inoculation / Insecta - microbiology / Life Sciences / Metarhizium - physiology / Metarhizium brunneum / Microorganisms / mycoinsecticides / ORIGINAL ARTICLE / Pathogens / Pest Control, Biological / Plant diseases / Plant Diseases - microbiology / Plant growth / Plant Sciences / Reagents / Root rot / roots / seed inoculation / seed treatment / Seed treatments / Seeds / Seeds - growth & development / Seeds - microbiology / Shoots / Studies / tissues / Triticum - growth & development / Triticum - microbiology / Wheat