Protorhabditis nematodes and pathogen-antagonistic bacteria interactively promote plant health
Xu Xu,
Renqiang Jiang,
Xinling Wang,
Shanshan Liu,
Menghui Dong,
Hancheng Mao,
Xingrui Li,
Ziyu Ni,
Nana Lv,
Xuhui Deng,
Wu Xiong,
Chengyuan Tao,
Rong Li,
Qirong Shen,
Stefan Geisen
Affiliations
Xu Xu
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Renqiang Jiang
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Xinling Wang
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Shanshan Liu
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Menghui Dong
Department of Agroecology, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University
Hancheng Mao
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Xingrui Li
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Ziyu Ni
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Nana Lv
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Xuhui Deng
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Wu Xiong
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Chengyuan Tao
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Rong Li
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Qirong Shen
The Sanya Institute of the Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-Saving Fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University
Abstract Background Fertilization practices control bacterial wilt-causing Ralstonia solanacearum by shaping the soil microbiome. This microbiome is the start of food webs, in which nematodes act as major microbiome predators. However, the multitrophic links between nematodes and the performance of R. solanacearum and plant health, and how these links are affected by fertilization practices, remain unknown. Results Here, we performed a field experiment under no-, chemical-, and bio-organic-fertilization regimes to investigate the potential role of nematodes in suppressing tomato bacterial wilt. We found that bio-organic fertilizers changed nematode community composition and increased abundances of bacterivorous nematodes (e.g., Protorhabditis spp.). We also observed that pathogen-antagonistic bacteria, such as Bacillus spp., positively correlated with abundances of bacterivorous nematodes. In subsequent laboratory and greenhouse experiments, we demonstrated that bacterivorous nematodes preferentially preyed on non-pathogen-antagonistic bacteria over Bacillus. These changes increased the performance of pathogen-antagonistic bacteria that subsequently suppressed R. solanacearum. Conclusions Overall, bacterivorous nematodes can reduce the abundance of plant pathogens, which might provide a novel protection strategy to promote plant health. Video Abstract
