Bacillomycin D Produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Is Involved in the Antagonistic Interaction with the Plant-Pathogenic Fungus Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph: Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Gibberella, Gibberella zeae) is a destructive fungal pathogen that threatens the production and quality of wheat and barley worldwide. Controlling this toxin-producing pathogen is a significant challenge. In the present study, the commercially available strain Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (Bacteria, Firmicutes, Bacillales, Bacillus) FZB42 showed strong activity against F. graminearum. The lipopeptide bacillomycin D, produced by FZB42, was shown to contribute to the antifungal activity. Purified bacillomycin D showed strong activity against F. graminearum, and its 50% effective concentration was determined to be approximately 30 mu g/ml. Analyses using scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that bacillomycin D caused morphological changes in the plasma membranes and cell walls of F. graminearum hyphae and conidia. Fluorescence microscopy combined with different dyes showed that bacillomycin D induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and caused cell death in F. graminearum hyphae and conidia. F. graminearum secondary metabolism also responded to bacillomycin D challenge, by increasing the production of deoxynivalenol. Biological control experiments demonstrated that bacillomycin D exerted good control of F. graminearum on corn silks, wheat seedlings, and wheat heads. In response to bacillomycin D, F. graminearum genes involved in scavenging reactive oxygen species were downregulated, whereas genes involved in the synthesis of deoxynivalenol were upregulated. Phosphorylation of MGV1 and HOG1, the mitogen-activated protein kinases of F. graminearum, was increased in response to bacillomycin D. Taken together, these findings reveal the mechanism of the antifungal action of bacillomycin D. IMPORTANCE Biological control of plant disease caused by Fusarium graminearum is desirable. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 is a representative of the biocontrol bacterial strains. In this work, the lipopeptide bacillomycin D, produced by FZB42, showed strong fungicidal activity against F. graminearum. Bacillomycin D caused morphological changes in the plasma membrane and cell wall of F. graminearum, induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately caused cell death in F. graminearum. Interestingly, when F. graminearum was challenged with bacillomycin D, the deoxynivalenol production, gene expression, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, and pathogenicity of F. graminearum were significantly altered. These findings clarified the mechanisms of the activity of bacillomycin D against F. graminearum and highlighted the potential of B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 as a biocontrol agent against F. graminearum.