Two Medicago truncatula growth-promoting rhizobacteria capable of limiting in vitro growth of the Fusarium soil-borne pathogens modulate defense genes expression

MAIN CONCLUSION: PGPRs: P. fluorescens Ms9N and S. maltophilia Ll4 inhibit in vitro growth of three legume fungal pathogens from the genus Fusarium. One or both trigger up-regulation of some genes (CHIT, GLU, PAL, MYB, WRKY) in M. truncatula roots and leaves in response to soil inoculation. ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas fluorescens (referred to as Ms9N; GenBank accession No. MF618323, not showing chitinase activity) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Ll4; GenBank accession No. MF624721, showing chitinase activity), previously identified as promoting growth rhizobacteria of Medicago truncatula, were found, during an in vitro experiment, to exert an inhibitory effect on three soil-borne fungi: Fusarium culmorum Cul-3, F. oxysporum 857 and F. oxysporum f. sp. medicaginis strain CBS 179.29, responsible for serious diseases of most legumes including M. truncatula. S. maltophilia was more active than P. fluorescens in suppressing the mycelium growth of two out of three Fusarium strains. Both bacteria showed β-1,3-glucanase activity which was about 5 times higher in P. fluorescens than in S. maltophilia. Upon soil treatment with a bacterial suspension, both bacteria, but particularly S. maltophilia, brought about up-regulation of plant genes encoding chitinases (MtCHITII, MtCHITIV, MtCHITV), glucanases (MtGLU) and phenylalanine ammonia lyases (MtPAL2, MtPAL4, MtPAL5). Moreover, the bacteria up-regulate some genes from the MYB (MtMYB74, MtMYB102) and WRKY (MtWRKY6, MtWRKY29, MtWRKY53, MtWRKY70) families which encode TFs in M. truncatula roots and leaves playing multiple roles in plants, including a defense response. The effect depended on the bacterium species and the plant organ. This study provides novel information about effects of two M. truncatula growth-promoting rhizobacteria strains and suggests that both have a potential to be candidates for PGPR inoculant products on account of their ability to inhibit in vitro growth of Fusarium directly and indirectly by up-regulation of some defense priming markers such as CHIT, GLU and PAL genes in plants. This is also the first study of the expression of some MYB and WRKY genes in roots and leaves of M. truncatula upon soil treatment with two PGPR suspensions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00425-023-04145-9.