Open AccessMethyl t-butyl ether-degrading bacteria for bioremediation and biocontrol purposes
Author(s) -
Giada d’Errico,
Veronica Aloj,
Valeria Ventorino,
Assunta Bottiglieri,
Ernesto Comite,
Alberto Ritieni,
Roberta Marra,
Sergio Bolletti Censi,
Gavin R. Flematti,
Olimpia Pepe,
F. Vinale
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0228936
Subject(s) - bioremediation , pythium ultimum , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , spore germination , botany , rhizoctonia solani , bacteria , spore , genetics
A total of fifteen potential methyl t- butyl ether (MtBE)-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from contaminated soil. They have been identified as belonging to the genera Bacillus , Pseudomonas , Kocuria , Janibacter , Starkeya , Bosea , Mycolicibacterium , and Rhodovarius . Bacillus aryabhattai R1B, S . novella R8b, and M . mucogenicum R8i were able to grow using MtBE as carbon source, exhibiting different growth behavior and contaminant degradation ability. Their biocontrol ability was tested against various fungal pathogens. Both S . novella R8b and B . aryabhattai were effective in reducing the development of necrotic areas on leaves within 48 hours from Botritys cinerea and Alternaria alternata inoculation. Whereas, M . mucogenicum effectively controlled B . cinerea after 72 hours. Similar results were achieved using Pythium ultimum , in which the application of isolated bacteria increased seed germination. Only M . mucogenicum elicited tomato plants resistance against B . cinerea . This is the first report describing the occurrence of bioremediation and biocontrol activities in M . mucogenicum , B . aryabhattai and S . novella species. The production of maculosin and its antibiotic activity against Rhizoctonia solani has been reported for first time from S . novella . Our results highlight the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to achieve a consistent selection of bacterial strains useful for plant protection and bioremediation purposes.