Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of botrytis blight or gray clay sculpture , the most unwashed and economically devasting disease for greenhouse crops . antifungal are routinely used to control Botrytis ; however , some Botrytis air are develop resistance to those chemicals . good bacteria have been used successfully as biological control agents for disease mastery . The Jones science laboratory at Ohio State University has screen a assembling of good bacteria to identify melodic line that can check Botrytis blight in petunia . These experiments have name some strains of Pseudomonas bacteria that are effectual microbial biocontrol agents ( MBCAs ) . We have characterized these bacterium to discover possible modes of action by which they stamp down the severity of Botrytis blight . This enquiry was made possible by a research Cary Grant from the American Floral Endowment ( AFE ) , and the complete report can be witness in part 1 and part 2 . extra information can also be found in the inquiry paper by South et al . , 2020 .
MethodsA syndicate or community of bacteria may work better than a single bacteria striving to control diseases like Botrytis blight . item-by-item strains and combinations of melody were evaluated on detach flowers of Petunia × hybrida ‘ Carpet Red .’The flowers selected for this experimentation were four day after flush opening because old flowers are more susceptible to Botrytis . The flowers were removed from the plant life , and foreshorten stems were put into a trial tubing sate with reverse osmosis ( RO ) water . Each flush was spray with a bacterium solution ( Tables 1 and 2 ) .
After the bacterium solution dry out on the detached flowers for two hours , the bloom were spray to take to the woods off with a answer of Botrytis spore . The blossom were closed inside Plexi - glass bedroom , varnish with weather stripping to create a high-pitched - humidity environs , overlay with cloth to decrease sparkle , and keep at room temperature for optimum disease developing . Each flower was shit for disease severity 48 hours after inoculation using a scale leaf of 0 to 4 ( physique 1 ) .
ResultsBacteria intermixture decreased Botrytis disease severity on petunia blossom . We found that 14B11 , 15H3 , AP54 , 14B11+AP54 , and 15H3+AP54 importantly decrease the disease severity because of Botrytis ( Figure 2 ) . The combination of 14B11 + 15H3 and 14B11 + 15H3+AP54 did not decrease disease badness . This align well with results found in our bacterial characterizations , which indicate that 15H3 has electronegative effects on the growth and function of 14B11 and should not be used together in a combined intervention .
Combining bacteria strains together can be a brawny tool in create an MBCA with efficacy in a diverse variety of floriculture harvest . We have identified key research lab assay that should be acquit to evaluate bacterium to make informed decisions on what bacteria to include in a consortium for future product conceptualisation . Through these lab assay and plant life trial , we identified bacterium consortia that act as an MBCA for Botrytis , mastery in petunia , and individual strains that are also highly efficient on their own for reducing the severity of the disease .
