Defeating Huanglongbing Pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus With Indigenous Citrus Endophyte Bacillus subtilis L1-21.

ABSTRACT: Huanglongbing (HLB) has turned into a devastating botanical pandemic of citrus crops, caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). However, until now the disease has remained incurable with very limited control strategies available. Restoration of the affected microbiomes in the diseased host through the introduction of an indigenous endophyte Bacillus subtilis L1-21 isolated from healthy citrus may provide an innovative approach for disease management. A novel half-leaf method was developed in vitro to test the efficacy of the endophyte L1-21 against CLas. Application of B. subtilis L1-21 at 10⁴ colony forming unit (cfu ml^-1) resulted in a 1,000-fold reduction in the CLas copies per gram of leaf midrib (10⁷

SUBMITTER: Munir S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8813962 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature