Native root-associated bacteria rescue a plant from a sudden-wilt disease that emerged during continuous cropping

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1505765112
• Publication Date: 2015-08-26T01:44:40Z
• Authors: Rakesh Santhanam; Van Thi Luu; Arne Weinhold; Jay Goldberg; Youngjoo Oh; Ian T. Baldwin
• Keywords: Nicotiana; 0301 basic medicine; 2. Zero hunger; Bacteria; Microbial Consortia; Molecular Sequence Data; Fungi; Alternaria; Sequence Analysis, DNA; 15. Life on land; Plant Roots; 03 medical and health sciences; Fusarium; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Antibiosis; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Symbiosis; Plant Diseases

Significance Plant roots associate with the diverse microbial community in soil and can establish mutualistic relationships microbes. The genetic characterization of plant microbiome (total microbiota plants) has intensified, but we still lack experimental proof ecological function root microbiome. Without such an understanding, use communities sustainable agricultural practices will be poorly informed. Through continuous cropping a seed-sterilized native plant, inadvertently recapitulated common dilemma: accumulation phytopathogens. Experimental inoculations seeds bacterial consortium during germination significantly attenuated mortality, demonstrating that plant’s opportunistic associations microbes have potential to increase resilience crops.