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Antagonistic activity of fungal endophyte filtrates against Gremmeniella abietina infections on Aleppo pine seedlings

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Abstract

Biological control agents (BCAs), and among them some species of fungal endophytes, are potential substitutes for chemical pesticides in the control of plant diseases due to their non-toxicity to human beings and their surrounding environment. One mode of action of fungal BCAs is through their bioactive, extracellular products, which can inhibit the growth of pathogens. In this study, the effect of fungal filtrates from four endophyte isolates (Trichoderma viride, Aureobasidium pullulans, Aureobasidium sp. and the unknown endophyte 20.1) on the advance of the pathogen Gremmeniella abietina on 2-year Pinus halepensis seedlings was evaluated. Both preventive and therapeutic treatments of the filtrates were studied by applying the filtrates either before or after the pathogen inoculation, respectively. Since G. abietina is a necrotrophic fungus, the length of the necrosis produced by the pathogen was used as response variable in our experiment. In order to explore the chemical composition of the fungal filtrates, a simple HPLC screening of UV-absorbing components was conducted. The results of the study showed that all fungal filtrates were able to reduce the advance of G. abietina when compared to the control seedlings, regardless of the time of inoculation and the treatment. Low-molecular weight phenolic compounds could be detected in some but not all filtrates, warranting further studies on the possible role of these compounds in fungal filtrates.

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Acknowledgments

The study was financed by the project of the Ministry “Biological control of Gremmeniella abietina in Spain (AGL2008-03622)”. We are indebted to the Central Nursery from the regional government of Castilla y León for their contribution of the Aleppo pine seedlings. We want to deeply thank A.R. Benitez for his help with the inoculations. We want to thank to Mr. Francisco de la Rosa and Professor Luis Debán from the Department of Analytical Chemistry from University of Valladolid for all their help with the preparation of samples for HPLC separation of organic compounds as well as their scientific support, help and collaboration. Furthermore, we appreciate V. Pando’s help and advice about the statistics involved. We also want to thank the Short-Term Scientific Mission of the COST action FA1103 for the economic support. Lastly, we want to thank M. Pautasso and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript and S.K. Fox and N. Brenville for the proof-reading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid-INIA, Avda. Madrid 44, Building E, 34004, Palencia, Spain

    Carmen Romeralo & Julio Javier Diez

  2. Department of Vegetal Production and Forest Resources, Higher Technical School of Agrarian Engineering, University of Valladolid, Avda. Madrid, s/n, 34004, Palencia, Spain

    Carmen Romeralo & Julio Javier Diez

  3. Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 49, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden

    Johanna Witzell

  4. Faculty of Science and Forestry, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Johanna Witzell

  5. BIOFORGE, University of Valladolid, Paseo del Cauce s/n, Valladolid, Spain

    Rosa Romeralo-Tapia

  6. Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Leticia Botella

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  1. Carmen Romeralo
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Romeralo, C., Witzell, J., Romeralo-Tapia, R. et al. Antagonistic activity of fungal endophyte filtrates against Gremmeniella abietina infections on Aleppo pine seedlings. Eur J Plant Pathol 143, 691–704 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-015-0719-3

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