RESUMO
Fluorescent pseudomonads have been associated, via diverse mechanisms, with suppression of root disease caused by numerous fungal and fungal-like pathogens. However, inconsistent performance in disease abatement, after their employment, has been a problem. This has been attributed, in part, to the inability of the biocontrol bacterium to maintain a critical threshold population necessary for sustained biocontrol activity. Our results indicate that a nitrogen stabilizer (N-Serve, Dow Agrosciences) selectively and significantly enhanced, by two to three orders of magnitude, the resident population of fluorescent pseudomonads in the amended (i.e., 25 microg ml(-1) nitrapyrin, the active ingredient) and recycled nutrient solution used in the cultivation of hydroponically grown gerbera and pepper plants. Pseudomonas putida was confirmed as the predominant bacterium selectively enhanced. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rDNA suggested that N-Serve selectively increased P. putida and reduced bacterial diversity 72 h after application. In vitro tests revealed that the observed population increases of fluorescent pseudomonads were preceded by an early growth suppression of indigenous aerobic heterotrophic bacteria (AHB) population. Interestingly, the fluorescent pseudomonad population did not undergo this decrease, as shown in competition assays. Xylene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (i.e., the inert ingredients in N-Serve) were responsible for a significant percentage of the fluorescent pseudomonad population increase. Furthermore, those increases were significantly higher when the active ingredient (i.e., nitrapyrin) and the inert ingredients were combined, which suggests a synergistic response. P. putida strains were screened for the ability to produce antifungal compounds and for the antifungal activity against Pythium aphanidermatum and Phytophthora capsici. The results of this study suggest the presence of diverse mechanisms with disease-suppressing potential. This study demonstrates the possibility of using a specific substrate to selectively enhance and maintain desired populations of a natural-occurring bacterium such as P. putida, a trait considered to have great potential in biocontrol applications for plant protection.