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POSTERS: Biological control

Biocontrol activity and mechanism perspective of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis strain
Piao Yang - The Ohio State University. Qin Peng- The Ohio State University, Zhenzhen Zhao- The Ohio State University, Madison Cahill- The Ohio State University, Yinping Liang- The Ohio State University, Na Wang- The Ohio State University, Jiangbo Fan- The Ohio State University, Muhammad Ali- T

Plants are constantly challenged by different stresses. Failure to overcome stresses could lead to a lack of plant fitness and significant yield losses. Bacteria in the genus of Bacillus are ubiquitous in nature and are well known for their ecological, clinical or industrial significance. Many Bacillus strains have been reported to promote plant growth and inhibit plant disease development. However, the detailed biocontrol mechanisms of Bacillus remain unclear. Here we isolated one novel Bacillus thuringiensis strain XY44 from switchgrass plants. This strain can promote plant growth and induce resistance to plant pathogens. The preliminary data also show that strain XY44 can inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea and several other fungal pathogens by in-vitro plate assay. Further plate co-assay tests indicate that volatile metabolite(s) produced by strain XY44 slow the growth and cause abnormal development of B. cinerea. Future research aims to investigate how strain XY44 interacts with the fungal plant pathogen B. cinerea and Arabidopsis/tomato plants to inhibit the pathogen growth and activate the plant disease resistance. An integrative biochemical, genetic, genomic, and molecular approach will be applied to the related study. The outcomes will lead to a deeper understanding of the related mechanisms and provide insights for developing more efficient and sustainable approaches for enhancing the related plant disease control for increasing plant health and yield. This will also reduce the chemical applications which are harmful to the environment and human health.