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Antagonism of endophytic fungi depends on pathogen and host plant

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Abstract

Endophytic fungi live within plant tissues without harming the host, promote its growth, and protect host plants from abiotic and biotic stresses using different strategies. The present study aims to assess the antagonism of apple endophytic fungi with biocontrol potential on apple scab disease to control Botrytis cinerea and Macrophomina phaseolina in vitro and in vivo on tomato and melon plants. To this end, twelve endophyte isolates were evaluated in a dual culture test to control pathogen mycelia growth. The antifungal properties of the isolates were examined against B. cinerea and M. phaseolina in vitro to determine the release of volatile organic compounds, cellulase, and chitinase as antifungal mechanisms, as well as generating phosphate solubilization as growth-promoting effect. Based on the results, five isolates including Chaetomium globosum 2S1, C. globosum 3L2, Fusarium acuminatum GO2L1, Fusarium fujikuroi 37F6, and Fusarium incarnatum 25S3 were selected for further investigations. The results indicated that endophyte isolates C. globosum 2S1, F. acuminatum GO2L1, and F. fujikuroi 37F6 reduced the disease severity of B. cinerea isolates B1 and B2 by more than 80 and 70% on endophytically-colonized tomato, respectively. Different results were obtained from melon with disease control between 10 and 50%. The in vivo tests revealed the complete control of charcoal rot disease by C. globosum 2S1, C. globosum 3L2, F. acuminatum GO2L1, and F. incarnatum 25S3 on both endophytically colonized tomato and melon plants, unlike grey mold disease. Finally, the results indicated that endophytic isolate treatments did not significantly influence plant growth.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the University of Tehran, Iran, for the financial support.

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  1. Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Leila Ebrahimi & Fatemeh Tadayon Rad

  2. Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mahmoud Lotfi

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Ebrahimi, L., Tadayon Rad, F. & Lotfi, M. Antagonism of endophytic fungi depends on pathogen and host plant. BioControl 68, 655–668 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-023-10224-3

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