The microbiome of diseased and healthy plants of Tomato

LÓPEZ, SILVINA M. Y.; GRACIELA N. PASTORINO; ANA CLARA ALANIS; JUAN MANUEL REPARAZ; MEDINA, ROCIO; GAUNA JUAN; SAPARRAT, MARIO CARLOS NAZARENO; BALATTI, PEDRO ALBERTO

Montevideo

Congreso; X ENCUENTRO LATINOAMERICANO Y DEL CARIBE DE BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGROPECUARIA Y XI SIMPOSIO REDBIO ARGENTINA.; 2019

INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIÓN AGROPECUARIA - URUGUAY

Today bacteria that interact with plants became a relevant biotechnological resource mainlyfor a sustainable agriculture management. The endobiome of plants contain plant growth promoting,phytopathogenic as well as antagonistic bacteria whose activity might counteract the stressesprovoked by biotic and abiotic factors. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the microbialcommunity of healthy and diseased plants.Tomato plants (cv. Elpida) were grown in a greenhouse located in La Plata, Argentina. Whileseveral plants presented symptoms associated with Stemphylium lycopersici, others were healthy.Tissues samples from diseased and healthy plants were collected at flowering in May 2017. GenomicDNA of samples (seed, roots, shoots, leaves and fruit) was extracted and used as templates for highthroughputsequencing. Concomitantly culturable endophytic bacteria within samples were isolatedand identified.The study led us to describe the phylogenetic structure of the endophytic bacteria inhabitingplants which were confirmed by high-throughput sequencing analysis. Isolates cultured in vitrobelonged to the phylum with greater relative abundance found in each plant tissue analyzed. Only afew taxa of bacteria within tomato plants can be cultured and bacterial communities within plantorgans were highly diverse the activity of these organism, might affect growth and development aswell as plant health. The endophytic communities associated with leaves of diseased plants wereless diverse and abundant than in healthy plants. May be pathogens are competing for nutrients andfavorable niches contributing in this way to a reduction in species richness and equity, leading this toan unbalanced community, at least compared to healthy plants. So most probably, the microbiome ofeach plant works as a shield, whose strength remains on diversity, which is crucial for the success ofpathogenesis development and also for the establishment of biocontrol agents.