title: Improved delivery of biocontrol Pseudomonas and their antifungal metabolites using alginate polymers.
abstract: Alginate polymer was evaluated as a carrier for seed inoculation with a genetically modified strain Pseudomonas fluorescens F113LacZY, which protects sugar-beet against Pythium-mediated damping-off. F113LacZY survived in alginate beads at 5 log10 CFU/bead or higher counts for 8 weeks of storage, regardless of the conditions of incubation. In plant inoculation experiments, colonisation of the growing area of the root by F113LacZY, derived from alginate beads placed in the soil next to the seed or from an alginate coating around the seeds, was improved compared with application of just free cells of the strain. F113LacZY trapped in alginate beads was an effective producer of antifungal phloroglucinols as indicated by direct HPLC quantification of phloroglucinols and in vitro inhibition of both the indicator bacterium Bacillus subtilis A1 and the pathogenic fungus Pythium ultimum. Alginate polymer represents a promising carrier for the delivery of biocontrol inoculants for root colonisation and production of antifungal metabolites.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, University College Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moënne-Loccoz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fedi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Regan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: O'Gara
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D010696:Phloroglucinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D011108:Polymers; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D011775:Pythium / Q000187:drug effects; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D011108:Polymers; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; C059817:2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol; D010696:Phloroglucinol