Characterizing biofilm development of a bacterial biological control agent
EMSL Project ID
28394
Abstract
There is increasing economic and political pressure for the implementation of sustainable practices for management of agro-ecosystems. The use of biocontrol agents to manage plant diseases has been touted as a means of increasing sustainability. However, the efficacy of biocontrol agents is inconsistent due to poor survival and colonization of plant surfaces. We have discovered a superior biocontrol agent, Burkholderia pyrrocinia, (FP62) against Botrytis cinerea that forms biofilms on plant surfaces. We hypothesize that the ability for biofilm formation is responsible for the consistent disease control associated with applications of FP62. FP62 mutants, deficient in biofilm formation are no longer able to control disease and appear to have similar leaf populations using culturing techniques but different populations when viewed microscopically. We propose to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of the wild-type and mutants using Environmental SEM in order to reduce artifacts created with traditional SEM fixation techniques. The information gained during this investigation will be used to modify application technology to increase the survival and colonization of biocontrol agents on plant surfaces which should increase their efficacy in controlling plant diseases. FP62 is not intended for the market but only as a model to further our understanding of epiphytic colonization on plant surfaces. Our investigations to date have already demonstrated that addition of polysaccharides as tank adjuvants significantly improve disease control. This project requests standard, general access in response to the open call for proposals.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2007-12-06
End Date
2008-12-07
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator