Antagonist Bacillus subtilis HJ5 controls Verticillium wilt of cotton by root colonization and biofilm formation

Cotton plants that are continuously subjected to monoculture suffer greatly from Verticillium wilt disease. The application of a novel bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) consisting of organic fertilizer combined with the antagonistic Bacillus subtilis strain HJ5 significantly suppressed Verticillium wilt of cotton. The disease incidence rates in soils that were treated with BOF (1 %, w/w) in the nursery stage, in the transplanted soil stage or in both stages, decreased by 42.9 %, 57.1 %, and 88.0 %, respectively, compared with controls. B. subtilis HJ5 was tagged with a plasmid-borne gfp gene encoding the green fluorescent protein to investigate its colonization behavior on cotton root surfaces. The results indicated that B. subtilis HJ5 predominantly colonizes the elongation and differentiation zones of the roots and forms micro-colonies in hydroponic and soil systems. The population of B. subtilis HJ5 in the rhizosphere and on cotton roots was also monitored. The number of B. subtilis HJ5 cells on the root surface reached a peak value of approximately 10(7) cfu per gram of roots 3 days after exposure of the cotton seedlings to the bacteria. Probably the colonization of B. subtilis HJ5 on cotton roots is one of the mechanisms involved in protecting cotton plants from fungal infection.