title: Survival of the biocontrol agents Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116 on the spikes of barley in the field.
abstract: Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum is a devastating disease that results in extensive yield losses to wheat and barley. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing plasmid pRP22-GFP was constructed for monitoring the colonization of two biocontrol agents, Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116, on the spikes of barley and their effect on suppression of FHB. Survival and colonization of the Brevibacillus brevis ZJY-1 and Bacillus subtilis ZJY-116 strains on spikes of barley were observed by tracking the bacterial transformants with GFP expression. Our field study revealed that plasmid pRP22-GFP was stably maintained in the bacterial strains without selective pressure. The retrieved GFP-tagged strains showed that the bacterial population fluctuation accorded with that of the rain events. Furthermore, both biocontrol strains gave significant protection against FHB on spikes of barley in fields. The greater suppression of barley FHB disease was resulted from the treatment of barley spikes with biocontrol agents before inoculation with F. graminearum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bing-xin
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei-feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Ching-hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jing-quan
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yu-hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D005670:Fusarium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D001467:Hordeum / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis