Activation of Induced Systemic Resistance in Cotton Plants Against Fusarium and Macrophomina by Microbial Antagonists

Vikram Poria, Prakriti Jhilta, Sandeep Kumar, Anuj Rana, Kumar Pranaw, Surender Singh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The use of microbial antagonists (MAs) against phytopathogens is a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable strategy that successfully enhances crop yield. In this study, we evaluated the in-planta efficacy of multistress-tolerant MAs isolated previously from the cotton rhizosphere showing high antagonistic activity against Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium oxysporum. During pathogenicity testing, M. phaseolina was found more aggressive compared to F. oxysporum as indicated by disease area percentage on cotton seeds but the use of MAs lowered the seed mortality rate (0–20%) in the pot experiment compared to pathogen control (47–60%) indicating their high antagonistic potential. The mode of antagonism was investigated by identifying antifungal metabolites and volatile organic compounds secreted by these agents using HPLC–MS and GC–MS coupled with SPME fiber, respectively, which revealed compounds like iturins, surfactins, mixirins, fengycins, undecanone, involved in the activation of induced systemic resistance (ISR) along with the antifungal activity. The increased levels of two defense enzymes, polyphenol oxidase [110–180% increase over absolute control (IOC)] and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (22–58% IOC), and three antioxidant enzymes, catalase (36–98% IOC), peroxidase (44–71% IOC), and superoxide dismutase (72–145% IOC) in MA-treated plants confirmed the activation of ISR against both pathogens. The proline, total phenolic, and glycine betaine contents also increased in the MAs-treated plants, whereas a decreased malondialdehyde content was observed. These results indicate that these MAs are reliable and sustainable options for enhancing crop growth and that their bioformulations can be used to control fungal pathogens and help plants endure biotic and abiotic stresses.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Plant Growth Regulation
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.

Keywords

  • Biocontrol
  • Induced systemic resistance
  • Iturins
  • Phytopathogens
  • Root rot
  • Surfactins

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