Microbiological control of soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi with special emphasis on wilt-inducing Fusarium oxysporum.
Plant diseases induced by soil-borne plant pathogens are among the most difficult to control. In the absence of effective chemical control methods, there is renewed interest in biological control based on application of populations of antagonistic micro-organisms. In addition to Pseudomonas spp. and Trichoderma spp., which are the two most widely studied groups of biological control agents, the protective strains of Fusarium oxysporum represent an original model. These protective strains of F. oxysporum can be used to control wilt induced by pathogenic strains of the same species. Exploring the mechanisms involved in the protective capability of these strains is not only necessary for their development as commercial biocontrol agents but raises many basic questions related to the determinism of pathogenicity versus biocontrol capacity in the F. oxysporum species complex. In this paper, current knowledge regarding the interaction between the plant and the protective strains is reviewed in comparison with interactions between the plant and pathogenic strains. The success of biological control depends not only on plant-microbial interactions but also on the ecological fitness of the biological control agents.
Alabouvette
Claude
C
UMR 1229, INRA Université de Bourgogne, Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, F 21065 Dijon Cedex, France.
Olivain
Chantal
C
UMR 1229, INRA Université de Bourgogne, Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, F 21065 Dijon Cedex, France.
Migheli
Quirico
Q
Dipartimento di Protezione delle Piante and Istituto Nazionale di Biostrutture e Biosistemi, Università degli Studi di Sassari,Via Enrico De Nicola 9, I - 07100 Sassari, Italy.
Steinberg
Christian
C
UMR 1229, INRA Université de Bourgogne, Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement, 17 rue Sully, BP 86510, F 21065 Dijon Cedex, France.
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000502:physiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D005670:Fusarium / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008954:Models, Biological; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D010940:Plant Proteins