To defend or to attack? Antagonistic interactions between Serratia plymuthica and fungal plant pathogens, a species-specific volatile dialogue

Daria Rybakova*, Henry Müller, Expedito Olimi, Angelika Schaefer, Tomislav Cernava, Gabriele Berg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are involved in microbial interspecies communication and in the mode of action of various antagonistic interactions. They are important for balancing host-microbe interactions and provide the basis for developing biological control strategies to control plant pathogens. We studied the interactions between the bacterial antagonist Serratia plymuthica HRO-C48 and three fungal plant pathogens Rhizoctonia solani, Leptosphaeria maculans and Verticillium longisporum. Significant differences in fungal growth inhibition by the Serratia-emitted VOCs in pairwise dual culture assays and changes in the transcriptome of the bacterium and in the volatilomes of both interacting partners were observed. Even though the rate of fungal growth inhibition by Serratia was variable, the confrontation of the bacterium with the VOCs of all three fungi changed the levels of expression of the genes involved in stress response, biofilm formation, and the production of antimicrobial VOCs. Pairwise interacting microorganisms switched between defense (downregulation of gene expression) and attack (upregulation of gene expression and metabolism followed by growth inhibition of the interacting partner) modes, subject to the combinations of microorganisms that were interacting. In the attack mode HRO-C48 significantly inhibited the growth of R. solani while simultaneously boosting its own metabolism; by contrast, its metabolism was downregulated when HRO-C48 went into a defense mode that was induced by the L. maculans and V. longisporum VOCs. L. maculans growth was slightly reduced by the one bacterial VOC methyl acetate that induced a strong downregulation of expression of genes involved in almost all metabolic functions in S. plymuthica. Similarly, the interaction between S. plymuthica and V. longisporum resulted in an insignificant growth reduction of the fungus and repressed the rate of bacterial metabolism on the transcriptional level, accompanied by an intense volatile dialogue. Overall, our results indicate that VOCs substantially contribute to the highly break species-specific interactions between pathogens and their natural antagonists and thus deserving of increased consideration for pathogen control.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1020634
Number of pages14
JournalFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Volume6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Oct 2022

Keywords

  • biocontrol
  • Leptospheria
  • microbiome
  • Rhizoctonia
  • Serratia
  • transcriptome
  • Verticillium
  • volatilome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Horticulture
  • Food Science
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Ecology

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