Browsing by Author "Silva, Sofia Teixeira da"
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- Biocontrol ability and mechanism of the endophyte Penicillium commune CIMO 14FM009 against olive anthracnosePublication . Silva, Sofia Teixeira da; Baptista, Paula; Ramos, Vítor Manuel CapelaOlive (Olea europaea L.) is a crop of great economic and cultural interest for the Mediterranean Basin, including Portugal. Olive anthracnose, caused by several Colletotrichum species, is the most economically harmful fruit disease of olive crop worldwide, by causing high losses in fruit yield and oil quality. Strategies to control this disease are mostly based on the use of copper-based products, with limited efficacy and not compatible with sustainable production systems. The development of new, more effective and safe tools for olive anthracnose control is therefore an urgent need. In this regard, the exploitation of endophytes as biological control agents against anthracnose, may holds great promise. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the ability of the endophyte Penicillium commune to induced the production of volatile organic compounds within olive tree tissues with antifungal activity towards Colletotrichum acutatum. For this purpose, branches of five olive trees were inoculated with buffer (control), endophyte, pathogen (C. acutatum), or endophyte and one month later with the pathogen (endophyte+pathogen). After 0, 3 and 24h of inoculation with the pathogen, both leaves and fruits were collected for evaluation of their composition on volatiles (by HS-SPME- GC/MS) and of the effect of plant-derived volatiles towards C. acutatum. The volatile profile varied over time and between treatments, especially in fruits. It was at 3 h where the greatest differences between treatments were recorded, with fruits from endophyte+pathogen inoculated branches being differentiated from the other treatments due to the emission of 7-octen-2-ol, 2,6-dimethyl-, 3-octanol, 3,7-dimethyl- and propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 3-methyl-2-butenyl ester. The analysis of the leaves showed a different pattern at 3h, with leaves from branches inoculated with endophyte or endophyte+pathogen exhibiting a similar volatile profile, but distinct from pathogen treatment. Plant-derived volatiles induced by P. commune reduced significantly the growth and sporulation of C. acutatum. Although preliminary, these findings provide new viable possibilities of controlling olive anthracnose using the endophyte P. commune and/or volatiles. These volatile inhibitory metabolites should be further tested against anthracnose.