Various microbial diseases that affect insects occur naturally. Recently, some of these bacterial and fungal insect pathogens have attracted interest as potential agents for suppression of plant diseases through activation of the plant immune system. In this study, we confirmed the disease-suppressive activity of three insecticidal microbes, Bacillus thuringiensis, Paecilomyces tenuipes, and Beauveria bassiana, against bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Transcriptome analysis of tomato plants treated with a cell-free infiltrate (CF) of cultures of these biologically independent microbes indicated that salicylic acid-mediated downstream signaling is co-activated in treated plants. Remarkably, expression of a tomato gene encoding a small chitin-binding protein was highly induced in response to the CF, and might play a role in suppressing wilt disease. Understanding the molecular basis of this bioinsecticide-induced plant immune system response could promote development of a bifunctional biopesticide for controlling a broad range of insects and pathogens.

Molecular basis of a bioinsecticide-activated plant defense system to suppress bacterial wilt disease caused by <i>Ralstonia solanacearum</i>

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Molecular basis of a bioinsecticide-activated plant defense system to suppress bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum