An investigation of nematode biological control potential in rice under oxic and anoxic soil environments

关于土传植物病原菌、其微生物拮抗剂(S)和寄主植物之间的三方相互作用的研究在很大程度上局限于有氧农业系统，而对于水稻根系周围的缺氧环境中的三方相互作用尚不清楚。了解这一独特的环境对于评估在全球占主导地位的主要粮食作物水稻中实施根部病原体生物防治的能力至关重要。该项目的主要目标是了解缺氧土壤环境对1)用于植物寄生线虫(根结线虫)生物防治的细菌(巨大芽孢杆菌)的种群动态，以及2)细菌与线虫之间可能相互作用的范围的影响。这是首次在缺氧/缺氧条件下研究这种寄生虫-拮抗剂的相互作用，并将为水稻特有的土壤水分环境下根部病原菌/寄生虫的生物防治提供一个模型。这项研究利用植物病理学、微生物学和分子方法的协同组合来研究这种病原菌-拮抗剂的相互作用。

Studies on the tripartite interaction between a soilborne plant pathogen, its microbial antagonist(s), and the host plant have been largely restricted to aerobic agricultural systems, while there is no knowledge about such interrelationships in the anoxic environment surrounding a rice root. Understanding this unique environment is essential for assessing the capacity to implement biological control of root pathogens in rice, the globally dominant staple food crop. The primary goals of this project are to understand the effect of anoxic-oxic soil environments on i) the population dynamics of a bacteria (Bacillus megaterium) introduced for biocontrol of a plant-parasitic nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola), and ii) on the range of possible interactions between the bacteria and the nematode. This is the first investigation of such parasite-antagonist interactions under oxic/anoxic conditions, and will provide a model for root pathogen/parasite biocontrol under soil water environments unique to rice. The research utilizes a synergistic combination of phytopathological, microbiological and molecular methods to investigate such pathogen-antagonist interactions.