STUDY OF BACTERIAL ISOLATES OF REGIONAL INTEREST AS POTENTIAL BIOCONTROL AGENTS AGAINST Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

FASCIO CESAR JUSTINIANO; RUBIOANNA CAROLINA MOLINA; POMARES M. F.; CARAM DI SANTO CAROLINA

salta

Congreso; SAIB 2022; 2022

SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DE BIOQUIMICA

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a necrotrophic pathogen of great agricultural concern. It is known to be the cause of disease on more than 400 plant species, including many crops of economic importance.Particularly on soybean (Glycine max), causes the stem rot disease and could be a determinant factor on significant yield losses. Biological control has been considered a promising approach for the treatment ofdiseases caused by certain phytopathogens. Antagonistic bacteria are known as biocontrol agents for decreasing soil born diseases of plants. In this study, an isolate of S. sclerotiorum was obtained from sclerotiacollected from diseased plants of a productive field in the northwestern region of Argentina. Then, 60 bacterial strains isolated from soil and rhizosphere were screened as potential biological control agents against S.sclerotiorum in vitro. Using dual culture methods, 7 isolates all belonging to the genus Bacillus showed inhibitory activity against S. sclerotiorum. Nonvolatile compounds of all promising isolates could reduce themycelial growth. On the other hand, no considerable effect was seen using cell-free supernatants (CFS) nor testing for volatile compounds (VOC) produced by any of the studied isolates. Complementarily,biochemical traits associated with plant growth promotion were evaluated in order to further characterize the isolates that showed positive antagonistic activity against the pathogen. This study intends to find suitablebacterial candidates and set the basis for the development of an effective biocontrol agent against S. sclerotiorum