Mixed bacterial fermentation can control the growth and development of Verticillium dahliae

Abstract Verticillium wilt is a severe disease caused by Verticillium dahliae, which afflicts many crops, particularly cotton in the Xinjiang province of China. Chemical fungicides are harmful to the environment, and biological control agents against the fungal pathogens of plants provide an alternative to chemicals. Biological control agents include antagonistic bacteria or metabolic products. We investigated the inhibitory effects of two plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) strains, namely Bacillus tequilensis C-9 and Sphingobacterium A1, against V. dahliae in vitro and in the field. We used the mixed fermentation of two bacteria to inhibit V. dahliae. Antimicrobial assays were performed and showed that spore production and germination, and the virulence protein of V. dahliae were reduced after treatment with cell-free mixed fermentation broth. In field studies, there was improvement in the disease severity, along with declined incidence and index after the treatment in the bud and bell stages. To explore the molecular mechanisms of this inhibition, we studied six metabolism-related genes by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results showed that in response to mixed fermentation broth, some genes related to growth and development were significantly upregulated, explaining the structural changes observed in V. dahliae. Some genes that regulate oxidative stress were also dramatically induced, indicating that mixed bacterial fermentation had a significant impact on V. dahliae. These results support the idea that the cell-free mixed fermentation broth of Bacillus tequilensis C-9 and Sphingobacterium A1, when applied for biocontrols, can inhibit V. dahliae in vitro and in vivo