Open AccessVolatiles produced by the mycophagous soil bacterium Collimonas
Author(s) -
Garbeva Paolina,
Hordijk Cornelis,
Gerards Saskia,
Boer Wietse
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/1574-6941.12252
Subject(s) - microcosm , biology , bacteria , microorganism , botany , rhizosphere , nutrient , agar , nutrient agar , incubation , agar plate , soil water , composition (language) , ecology , biochemistry , linguistics , genetics , philosophy
It is increasingly recognized that volatile organic compounds play an import role during interactions between soil microorganisms. Here, we examined the possible involvement of volatiles in the interaction of C ollimonas bacteria with soil fungi. The genus C ollimonas is known for its ability to grow at the expense of living fungi (mycophagy), and antifungal volatiles may contribute to the attack of fungi by these bacteria. We analyzed the composition of volatiles produced by C ollimonas on agar under different nutrient conditions and studied the effect on fungal growth. The volatiles had a negative effect on the growth of a broad spectrum of fungal species. C ollimonas bacteria did also produce volatiles in sand microcosms supplied with artificial root exudates. The production of volatiles in sand microcosms was enhanced by the presence of fungi. The overall picture that we get from our study is that antifungal volatiles produced by C ollimonas could play an important role in realizing its mycophagous lifestyle. The current work is also interesting for understanding the ecological relevance of volatile production by soil bacteria in general as we found strong influences of root exudates composition and incubation conditions on the spectrum of volatiles produced.