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Antifungal activity of avocado rhizobacteria against Fusarium euwallaceae and Graphium spp., associated with Euwallacea spp. nr. fornicatus, and Phytophthora cinnamomi

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Abstract

Plant rhizobacteria have been successfully used as biocontrol agents against fungal phytopathogens. However, their potential to control two important avocado diseases, namely Fusarium dieback (FD) and Phytophthora root rot (PRR), has been poorly studied. FD is an emerging disease triggered by fungi associated with two ambrosia beetle species (Euwallacea fornicatus species complex), while PRR is caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi, a soil-borne oomycete. In the present work, the antifungal activity of bacteria isolated from avocado rhizosphere was tested in dual culture assays against Fusarium euwallaceae, Graphium euwallaceae and Graphium sp., causal agents of FD, and against P. cinnamomi. In 2015, rhizosphere soil samples of FD infested and non-infested avocado trees were collected from a commercial avocado orchard in Escondido, California. In an initial screening, 72 of the 168 assessed bacterial isolates reduced mycelial growth of F. euwallaceae by up to 46%. Eight bacterial isolates showing inhibition percentages larger than 40% were then selected for further antagonism assays against the other fungal pathogens. Five bacterial isolates, determined by 16S rDNA sequencing to belong to the Bacillus subtilis/Bacillus amyloliquefaciens species complex, successfully inhibited the mycelial growth of both Graphium species by up to 30%. The same isolates and an additional isolate identified as Bacillus mycoides, inhibited the growth of P. cinnamomi by up to 25%. This is the first report of avocado rhizobacteria with antifungal activity against pathogens responsible for FD and PRR in avocado.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Clemente García-Ávila and Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (SENASICA) for facilitating the import of bacterial strains isolated from a California avocado orchard to Mexico. We also thank Eneas Aguirre, Diana Sánchez and Yonatan Escudero for their help with isolating and morphotyping bacterial isolates, and Ofelia Ferrera for her technical assistance. This study was supported by a 2015 The University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States and El Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (UC MEXUS – CONACYT) collaborative research grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Red de Estudios Moleculares Avanzados, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Edgar Guevara-Avendaño, José A. Guerrero-Analco & Frédérique Reverchon

  2. Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, 92521, CA, USA

    Joseph D. Carrillo, Cedric Ndinga-Muniania, Kevin Moreno & Akif Eskalen

  3. CONACYT - Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, LANASE, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Michoacán, Mexico

    Alfonso Méndez-Bravo

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  1. Edgar Guevara-Avendaño
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  2. Joseph D. Carrillo
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  3. Cedric Ndinga-Muniania
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Correspondence to Akif Eskalen or Frédérique Reverchon.

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Guevara-Avendaño, E., Carrillo, J.D., Ndinga-Muniania, C. et al. Antifungal activity of avocado rhizobacteria against Fusarium euwallaceae and Graphium spp., associated with Euwallacea spp. nr. fornicatus, and Phytophthora cinnamomi . Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 111, 563–572 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-017-0977-5

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