SLIME MOULDS AS POTENTIAL BIOCONTROL AGENT AGAINST THE FUNGAL TOMATO WILT PATHOGEN FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM
Investigations on the predatory activity of slime moulds (Myxomycetes) against the fungal plant-pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in soil
Mycelium of Fusarium attacked by a Plasmodium of a slime mould
Picture: Johann Gangl
Mycelium of Fusarium attacked by a Plasmodium of a slime mould
Picture: Johann Gangl
40x magnification of mycelium of Fusarium
Picture: Johann Gangl
Slime moulds (Myxomycetes) are single celled microorganisms of the group Amoebozoa and naturally occur in soils world-wide amongst many other habitats.
They showed predatory activity against different life cycle stages of soil born plant pathogenic fungi like Fusarium oxysporum in preliminary experiments in petri dishes. At the best of our knowledge no reports have been published on use and applications of Myxomycetes in the control of plant pathogens.
This project aims to investigate the behaviour of different life cycle stages of slime moulds in soil in terms of growth and predatory activity against the fungal plant-pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici which is causing Tomato wilt, an important disease of tomato which is difficult to control using cultural and chemical methods. The ability of slime moulds to grow in different soil media suitable for the growth of tomatos will be investigated in small laboratory experiments with modern qPCR and fluorescence microscopy methods. If they are able to grow in a suitable soil medium it will be tested whether they are able to reduce the biomass of the fungal plant-pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in this medium. Finally, we will test the ability of slime moulds to reduce the disease symptoms of tomato in small scale glasshouse experiments.
Thus, our investigations will contribute to pave the way for possible applications of a completely new class of microorganisms in bio-control of plant-pathogens.
Lead Researcher:
Ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Marc Lemmens
University lecturer
Institute of Biotechnology in Plant Production, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
marc.lemmens@boku.ac.at
+43 1 47654-97104
www.boku.ac.at
