Antibiosis of Trichoderma spp strains native to northeastern Mexico against the pathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina

Abstract Sampling of agricultural soils from the Mexican northeastern region was performed to detect Trichoderma spp., genetically characterize it, and assess its potential use as a biologic control agent against Macrophomina phaseolina. M. phaseolina is a phytopathogen that attacks over 500 species of cultivated plants and causes heavy losses in the regional sorghum crop. Sampling was performed immediately after sorghum or corn harvest in an area that was approximately 170 km from the Mexico-USA border. Sixteen isolates were obtained in total. Using colony morphology and sequencing the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) 1 and 4 of 18S rDNA, 14 strains were identified as Trichoderma harzianum, T. koningiopsis and T. virens. Subsequently, their antagonistic activity against M. phaseolina was evaluated in vitro, and 11 isolates showed antagonism by competition and stopped M. phaseolina growth. In 4 of these isolates, the antibiosis phenomenon was observed through the formation of an intermediate band without growth between colonies. One strain, HTE808, was identified as Trichoderma koningiopsis and grew rapidly; when it came into contact with the M. phaseolina colony, it continued to grow and sporulated until it covered the entire petri dish. Microscopic examination confirmed that it has a high level of hyperparasitism and is thus considered to have high potential for use in the control of this phytopathogen.

Indução de fitoalexinas em soja e sorgo por preparações de Saccharomyces boulardii / Induction of phytoalexins in soybean and sorghum by Saccharomyces boulardii

O gênero Saccharomyces tem sido usado como indutor de resistência ou para controle biológico em muitos patossistemas. Neste trabalho objetivou-se a indução de fitoalexinas em mesocótilos de sorgo e cotilédones de soja pela levedura Saccharomyces boulardii na forma do produto comercial Floratil (Merck) (com 2 x 106 células/mg produto comercial - pc) e massa de células obtidas de meio líquido YEPG (primeiramente com 14 dias de cultivo e, posteriormente, com 7, 14, 21, 28 e 35 dias) ambos em concentrações de 0,005; 0,05; 0,5; 5; 15 e 25 mg/mL, além de filtrado desse meio nas concentrações de 0,01; 0,1; 1; 5; 10 e 20%. Como tratamentos controle utilizou-se água e S. cerevisiae (25 mg/mL de pc) para soja e água e acibenzolar-S-metil (ASM) (125 mg i.a./L) para sorgo. Em soja os três produtos apresentaram efeito dose-dependente, com ajustes de equações de 1° grau e R2 de 0,64; 0,94 e 0,98 não tendo efeito do tempo de cultivo da levedura na indução de fitoalexinas. Em sorgo apenas o filtrado e Floratil tiveram efeito dose-dependente com equação de 1° grau e R2 de 0,63 e 0,94 respectivamente e obteve-se nos diferentes dias de cultivo R2 de 0,62 com a massa de células somente. Portanto, pode-se evidenciar o potencial indutor de fitoalexinas dos produtos a base de S. boulardii para ensaios com indução de resistência em patossistemas envolvendo sorgo e soja.

Saccharomyces yeast compounds have been used as a resistance elicitor or for biological control in many pathosystems. Thus, the aim of this research was to verify the induction of phytoalexins in sorghum mesocotyls and soybean cotyledons by using Saccharomyces boulardii in the form of the commercial product Floratil (Merck) (with 2 x 106 cells/mg) and yeast-cell mass obtained from liquid culture in YEPG medium (with 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days old), both at concentrations of 0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 5, 15 and 25 mg/mL, as well as the filtrate of this medium in concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 5, 10 and 20%. The control treatments consisted of distilled water and S. cerevisiae (25 mg of commercial product per mL) for the soybean tests and distilled water and acibenzolar-S-methyl (125 mg of active ingredient per L) for the sorghum tests. In soybeans the three tested S. boulardii products presented a dose-dependent effect with R2 of 0.64, 0.94 and 0.98 for the culture filtrate, cell suspension and commercial product of S. boulardii, respectively, with no effect of culture time of yeasts on phytoalexin induction. In sorghum, only the culture filtrate and Floratil presented a dose-dependent effect, with R2 of 0.63 and 0.94, respectively, and the cell suspension of S. boulardii showed dependence of culture time with R2 of 0.62. Thus, S. boulardii and its derivates induce phytoalexins and have potential to be used as an elicitor for assays with induction resistance in pathosystems involving sorghum and soybean plants.