Traits of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. involved in suppression of plant root pathogens.

Antagonistic fungi, trichoderma spp.: panoply of biological control

Soilborne root diseases caused by plant pathogenic Pythium species cause serious losses in a number of agricultural production systems, which has led to a considerable effort devoted to the development of biological agents for disease control. In this article we review information on the ecology and biological control of these pathogens with the premise that a clear understanding of the ecology of the pathogen will assist in the development of efficacious biocontrol agents. The lifecycles of the pathogens and etiology of host infection also are reviewed, as are epidemiological concepts of inoculum-disease relationships and the influence of environmental factors on pathogen aggressiveness and host susceptibility. A number of fungal and bacterial biocontrol agents are discussed and parallels between their ecology and that of the target pathogens highlighted. The mechanisms by which these microbial agents suppress diseases caused by Pythium spp., such as interference with pathogen survival, disruption of the...

Soilborne plant diseases caused by pythium spp: ecology, epidemiology, and prospects for biological control

Of 24 Trichoderma isolates, T. harzianum Rifai (T24) showed a potential for control of the phytopathogenic basidiomycete Sclerotium rolfsii. When T24 was grown on different carbon sources, growth inhibition of S. rolfsii by the T24 culture filtrate correlated with the activity of extracellular chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase. The 43-kilodalton (kDa) chitinase and the 74-kDa β-1,3-glucanase were purified from the T24 culture filtrate in two and three steps, respectively, using ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (phenyl-Sepharose) and gel filtration (β-1,3-glucanase). Km and Kcat were 3.8 g l–1 and 0.71 s–1 for the chitinase (chitin) and 1.1 g l–1 and 52 s–1 for the β-1,3-glucanase (laminarin). The chitinase showed higher activity on chitin than on less-acetylated substrate analogues (chitosan), while the β-1,3-glucanase was specific for β-1,3-linkages in polysaccharides. Both enzymes were stable at 30°C, while at 60°C the chitinase and the β-1,3-glucanase were rapidly inactivated, showing half-lives of 15 and 20 min, respectively. The enzymes inhibited growth of S. rolfsii in an additive manner showing a promising ED50 (50% effective dose) value of 2.7 µg/ml.

Characterization of a chitinase and an endo-β-1,3-glucanase from Trichoderma harzianum Rifai T24 involved in control of the phytopathogen Sclerotium rolfsii

G. C. Papavizas

Papers

Evaluation of new biotypes of Trichoderma harzianum for tolerance to benomyl and enhanced biocontrol capabilities.