P-667 - Biocontrol potential of a bacterial strain against Fusarium spp. in pulses

Root rot is an economically important disease in pulse crops. The disease is caused by a pathogen complex and, besides Rhizoctonia spp., Aphanomyces euteiches, and Pythium spp., the major causal agents within this root rot complex belong to the genus Fusarium. Previously, we identified a bacterial agent that appears to reduce virulence of some Fusarium species when co-cultured. Furthermore, preliminary data shows that six Fusarium species, namely Fusarium acuminatum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium redolens, and Fusarium sporotrichioides, produce significantly less spores when grown in the presence of the bacterial strain compared to Fusarium cultures that are grown in the absence of the bacterial strain. We are currently sequencing the genome of the bacterial strain to use it as basis for further analyses to identify the effector produced by the bacteria that is responsible for reducing spore production in the fungal pathogen.