Abstract Description

Plant-microbiome interactions are crucial in maintaining plant health and productivity. In this paper, we combine genomics and culture-dependent methods to report an investigation on the in vitro interactions between Pseudomonas species and soybean pathogens. Three Pseudomonas species, isolated from the rhizosphere of soybean, were evaluated against Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Rhizoctonia solani. Their genome were sequenced and mined for genes responsible for biocontrol and synthesis of secondary metabolites. The results of the in vitro assay showed that the three species exhibited antagonistic activity against B. cinerea and R. solani. The genomes of the three species were estimated as 6,144,889, 6,144,888, and 12,992,303 base pairs for Pseudomonas sp. CPBL26, Pseudomonas sp. CPBL28 and Pseudomonas corrugata CPBL41, respectively. The GC content was 61.05% for strains CPBL26 and CPBL28, which present 5,245 coding DNA sequences, while strain CPBL41 has a 61.83% GC content and 11,960 coding DNA sequences. Biosynthetic gene clusters linked to antifungal activity included hydrogen cyanide, entolysin, and pyochelin in all three strains. Additionally, syringomycin was synthesized by CPBL26 and CPBL41; nunapeptin/nunamycin in CPBL28; and histicorrugatin and desferrioxamine E in CPBL41. These results indicate that the three Pseudomonas strains could serve as potential biocontrol agents.