Endophytic Bacteria Suppress Bacterial Wilt of Tomato Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum and Activate Defense-related Metabolites

Introduction: Phytopathogenic microorganisms affect plant health and burden a major threat to food production and ecosystem stability. Increasing the use of chemical pesticides for plant diseases control causes several negative effects on human and environment health. Furthermore, increasing public awareness about the side effects of them led to a research to find alternatives for these products. One of the alternative methods is bio-control utilizing plant associated antagonistic microorganisms. Materials and methods: In this study, 80 endophytic bacteria were isolated from tomato tissues. Their antagonistic activity screened based on agar diffusion test, against tomato bacterial wilt disease (Ralstonia solanacearum). They were identified based on the morphological, biochemical properties and 16s rRNA sequence analyses. These strains were evaluated in greenhouse and tested for their ability to induce the production of defense-related enzymes in plants e.g. Peroxidase (PO), polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and phenolics based on spectrophotometer method. Results: Results showed FS67, FS167 and FS184 strains had maximum inhibition zone forming. They identified as Pseudomonas mossellii, P. fuorescence and P. brassicacearum respectively. FS67 and FS167 strains significantly reduced disease in greenhouse. There was a significant increase in the activity of PO, PPO and phenolics in tomato plants treated with FS67, FS167 and pathogen. Discussion and conclusion: The present study has shown that P. mosselli and P. fuorescence might have the potential to control R. solanacearum. However, the good results obtained in vitro cannot be gained the same as those in greenhouse or field conditions. So, further experiments are needed to determine the effectiveness of these isolates under field conditions.This work support the view that increased defense enzymes activities could be involved, at least in part, in the beneficial effects of endophytic bacteria on plants growth in interaction of pathogens. This is the first report of antagonistic activity of Pseudomonas mossellii from Iran.