Hwe-Su Yi

Impact of a Bacterial Volatile 2,3-Butanediol on Bacillus subtilis Rhizosphere Robustness

Volatile compounds, such as short chain alcohols, acetoin, and 2,3-butanediol, produced by certain strains of root-associated bacteria (rhizobacteria) elicit induced systemic resistance in plants. The effects of bacterial volatile compounds (BVCs) on plant and fungal growth have been extensively studied; however, the impact of bacterial BVCs on bacterial growth remains poorly understood. In this study the effects of a well-characterized bacterial volatile, 2,3-butanediol, produced by the rhizobacterium Bacillus subtilis, were examined in the rhizosphere. The nature of 2,3-butanediol on bacterial cells was assessed, and the effect of the molecule on root colonization was also determined. Pepper roots were inoculated with three B. subtilis strains: the wild type, a 2,3-butanediol overexpressor, and a 2,3-butanediol null mutant. The B. subtilis null strain was the first to be eliminated in the rhizosphere, followed by the wild-type strain. The overexpressor mutant was maintained at roots for the duration of the experiment. Rhizosphere colonization by a saprophytic fungus declined from 14 days post-inoculation in roots treated with the B. subtilis overexpressor strain. Next, exudates from roots exposed to 2,3-butanediol were assessed for their impact on fungal and bacterial growth in vitro. Exudates from plant roots pre-treated with the 2,3-butanediol overexpressor were used to challenge various microorganisms. Growth was inhibited in a saprophytic fungus (Trichoderma sp.), the 2,3-butanediol null B. subtilis strain, and a soil-borne pathogen, Ralstonia solanacearum. Direct application of 2,3-butanediol to pepper roots, followed by exposure to R. solanacearum, induced expression of Pathogenesis-Related (PR) genes such as CaPR2, CaSAR8.2, and CaPAL. These results indicate that 2,3-butanediol triggers the secretion of root exudates that modulate soil fungi and rhizosphere bacteria. These data broaden our knowledge regarding bacterial volatiles in the rhizosphere and their roles in bacterial fitness and as important inducers of plant defenses.

A cry for help from leaf to root: above ground insect feeding leads to the recruitment of rhizosphere microbes for plant self-protection against subsequent diverse attacks.

Plants have evolved general and specific defense mechanisms to protect themselves from diverse enemies, including herbivores and pathogens. To maintain fitness in the presence of enemies, plant defense mechanisms are aimed at inducing systemic resistance: in response to the attack of pathogens or herbivores, plants initiate extensive changes in gene expression to activate “systemic acquired resistance” against pathogens and “indirect defense” against herbivores. Recent work revealed that leaf infestation by whiteflies, stimulated systemic defenses against both an airborne pathogen and a soil-borne pathogen, which was confirmed by the detection of the systemic expression of pathogenesis-related genes in response to salicylic acid and jasmonic acid-signaling pathway activation. Further investigation revealed that plants use self protection mechanisms against subsequent herbivore attacks by recruiting beneficial microorganisms called plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria/fungi, which are capable of reducing whitefly populations. Our results provide new evidence that plant-mediated aboveground to belowground communication and vice versa are more common than expected.

Systemic Induction of the Small Antibacterial Compound in the Leaf Exudate During Benzothiadiazole-elicited Systemic Acquired Resistance in Pepper.

Plants protect themselves from diverse potential pathogens by induction of the immune systems such as systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Most bacterial plant pathogens thrive in the intercellular space (apoplast) of plant tissues and cause symptoms. The apoplastic leaf exudate (LE) is believed to contain nutrients to provide food resource for phytopathogenic bacteria to survive and to bring harmful phytocompounds to protect plants against bacterial pathogens. In this study, we employed the pepper-Xanthomonas axonopodis system to assess whether apoplastic fluid from LE in pepper affects the fitness of X. axonopodis during the induction of SAR. The LE was extracted from pepper leaves 7 days after soil drench-application of a chemical trigger, benzothiadiazole (BTH). Elicitation of plant immunity was confirmed by significant up-regulation of four genes, CaPR1, CaPR4, CaPR9, and CaCHI2, by BTH treatment. Bacterial fitness was evaluated by measuring growth rate during cultivation with LE from BTH- or water-treated leaves. LE from BTH-treatment significantly inhibited bacterial growth when compared to that from the water-treated control. The antibacterial activity of LE from BTH-treated samples was not affected by heating at 100°C for 30 min. Although the antibacterial molecules were not precisely identified, the data suggest that small (less than 5 kDa), heat-stable compound(s) that are present in BTH-induced LE directly attenuate bacterial growth during the elicitation of plant immunity.