Bacteria kill pathogenic fungi
28. Oktober 2016, von Kathrin Oppermann
Plant diseases pose a world-wide threat to our daily food. Pathogens reduce the yield and poison the harvest with toxins. They need to be controlled to maintain the quality and abundance of food, feed, and fiber produced by growers around the world.
However, the environmental pollution caused by excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals has led to considerable changes in people’s attitudes towards the use of pesticides in agriculture.
Alternatives are those referred to as Biological controls.
The molecular basis of the anti-fungal effect of Janthinobacteria against the wheat pathogen Fusarium graminearum is elucidated by the groups of Profs. Streit (Microbiology) and Schäfer (Molecular Phytopathology). Their studies provide first evidence that the bacterial quorum sensing system is crucially involved in inhibiting the fungal pathogen.
Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 7, October 2016