title: Microbial and biochemical basis of a Fusarium wilt-suppressive soil.
abstract: Crops lack genetic resistance to most necrotrophic pathogens. To compensate for this disadvantage, plants recruit antagonistic members of the soil microbiome to defend their roots against pathogens and other pests. The best examples of this microbially based defense of roots are observed in disease-suppressive soils in which suppressiveness is induced by continuously growing crops that are susceptible to a pathogen, but the molecular basis of most is poorly understood. Here we report the microbial characterization of a Korean soil with specific suppressiveness to Fusarium wilt of strawberry. In this soil, an attack on strawberry roots by Fusarium oxysporum results in a response by microbial defenders, of which members of the Actinobacteria appear to have a key role. We also identify Streptomyces genes responsible for the ribosomal synthesis of a novel heat-stable antifungal thiopeptide antibiotic inhibitory to F. oxysporum and the antibiotic's mode of action against fungal cell wall biosynthesis. Both classical- and community-oriented approaches were required to dissect this suppressive soil from the field to the molecular level, and the results highlight the role of natural antibiotics as weapons in the microbial warfare in the rhizosphere that is integral to plant health, vigor and development.
authors.affiliation: IALS and Department of Plant Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Yul
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics Tech Lab, SK Telecom, Sungnam, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sangjo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Hee-Jeon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: RILS and Division of Applied Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunji
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: IALS and Department of Plant Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Daran
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: IALS and Department of Plant Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Youngho
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology and Division of Life Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Kyeong
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crüsemann
authors.affiliation: RILS and Division of Applied Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bok Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Systems Biology and Division of Life Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jihyun F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Guri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giaever
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Corey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nislow
authors.affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Root Disease and Biological Control Research Unit, Pullman, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Thomashow
authors.affiliation: US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Root Disease and Biological Control Research Unit, Pullman, WA, USA.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.affiliation: IALS and Department of Plant Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.|RILS and Division of Applied Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Youn-Sig
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kwak
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000898:Antibiosis; D031985:Fragaria / Q000382:microbiology*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D058441:Rhizosphere; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013302:Streptomyces / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology