1. The biocontrol agent Lactiplantibacillus plantarum AMBP214 is dispersible to plants via bumblebees.
- Author
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Temmermans J, Legein M, Zhao Y, Kiekens F, Smagghe G, de Coninck B, and Lebeer S
- Subjects
- Animals, Bees, Humans, Crops, Agricultural, Pest Control, Biological, Fragaria microbiology
- Abstract
Importance: Plant protection products are essential for ensuring food production, but their use poses a threat to human and environmental health, and their efficacy is decreasing due to the acquisition of resistance by pathogens. Stricter regulations and consumer demand for cleaner produce are driving the search for safer and more sustainable alternatives. Microbial biocontrol agents, such as microorganisms with antifungal activity, have emerged as a promising alternative management strategy, but their commercial use has been limited by poor establishment and spread on crops. This study presents a novel system to overcome these challenges. The biocontrol agent Lactiplantibacillus plantarum AMBP214 was spray-dried and successfully dispersed to strawberry flowers via bumblebees. This is the first report of combining spray-dried, non-spore-forming bacteria with pollinator-dispersal, which scored better than the state-of-the-art in terms of dispersal to the plant (CFU/flower), and resuscitation of the biocontrol agent. Therefore, this new entomovectoring system holds great promise for the use of biocontrol agents for disease management in agriculture., Competing Interests: The results of this work are included in a patent application, PCT phase filed on 24/05/2023, titled "Bacterial biocontrol agent." G.S. is the inventor of the hive-mounted disseminator used in this manuscript. J.T. and S.L. received funding from Hamster cleaning for a VLAIO funded research project. S.L. was the chairperson of the scientific advisory board of YUN NV till March 2023 and is a voluntary academic board member of the International Scientific Association on Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) since 2018. These organizations were not involved in this work.
- Published
- 2023
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