Pseudomonas spp. diversity is negatively associated with suppression of the wheat take-all pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research typically shows positive diversity- productivity relationships. However, local increases in species richness can increase competition within trophic levels, reducing the efficacy of intertrophic level population control. Pseudomonas spp. are a dominant group of soil bacteria that play key roles in plant growth promotion and control of crop fungal pathogens. Here we show that Pseudomonas spp. richness is positively correlated with take-all disease in wheat and with yield losses of ~3 t/ha in the field. We modeled the interactions between Pseudomonas and the take-all pathogen in abstract experimental microcosms, and show that increased bacterial genotypic richness escalates bacterial antagonism and decreases the ability of the bacterial communi

SUBMITTER: Mehrabi Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4993996 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature