Journal of Plant Pathology (2007) 89, p. S53 (Pentimone et al.)

I. Pentimone, M. Ferrara, A. Ligorio, A. Ippolito and F. Nigro (2007)
Genetic characterization by AFLP of Bacillus licheniformis strains, potential biocontrol agent of soil-borne pathogens
Journal of Plant Pathology 89 (3, Suppl.), S53-S53
Poster Presentation at S.I.Pa.V XIV National Meeting - Perugia, Italy 19-21 Sept. 2007
Abstract: Bacillus licheniformis, a Gram-positive, spore-forming soil bacterium, is used in the biotechnology industry to produce enzymes, antibiotics, and other biochemicals. The species synthesizes a range of extracellular products that may contribute to nutrient cycling in nature. Moreover, in recent years interest in biocontrol of soil-borne plant pathogens has been encouraged by trends in agriculture towards a greater sustainability. There are clear evidences that several bacteria and their products play a key role in the suppression of various soil-borne plant pathogens. The biocontrol agent B. licheniformis, strain MBBL1, proved to be effective in reducing the inoculum density of Verticillium dahliae in the rizosphere of olive trees. However, the introduction of antagonistic microbes in the soil calls for the necessity of monitoring their dispersal and interactions with the natural occurring rhizosphere microbes. Therefore, in this study the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique was applied and evaluated to discriminate strain MBBL1 from a group of highly related Bacillus spp. isolates from the olive rhizosphere. For AFLP analysis, the total purified genomic DNA from 100 isolates was digested with EcoRI and MseI and ligated to constructed adapters. Restricted/ ligated fragments were pre-amplified using primers complementary to the adapters, then selectively amplified using primers exceeding three nucleotides beyond the 3'-end of the adapters. Finally, amplified products were resolved with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and were silver stained. The method enabled the identification of the targeted strain even after soil treatment. Moreover, the AFLP method allowed a preliminary characterization of B. licheniformis strains at the intra-subspecific population level.
Database assignments for author(s): Franco Nigro, Antonio Ippolito

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
molecular biology - genes
surveys/distribution/isolation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Bacillus licheniformis (antagonist)