Comparative genomic analysis of three Bacillus species that have an antagonistic effect on Fusarium graminearum

The fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum (Fg) causes head blight (FHB) disease in cereal crops of small grains such as wheat, rye and barley. These crops represent a great portion of the calorific consumption around the world. The pathogen also produces mycotoxins that are harmful to humans and livestock.
Fungicides, integrated pest management, resistant plant varieties and biological control agents have been employed to control FHB. We used three different Bacillus strains: QST713, FZB24 and EU07 to investigate their antagonistic effect on Fg. Although all three Bacillus species suppressed the fungal growth, the EU07 gave the highest suppression. During the studies, we also noticed that these three Bacillus species have different grades of plant growth-promoting (PGP) effect and all of them enhanced the plant defence. However, EU07 showed the highest PGP-activity. This prompted us to carry out a comparative genomic analysis on these bacterial species to identify what makes EU07 superior to others. Our results showed that they are different species and they differ in genes that are involved in the production of antimicrobial compounds such chitinases, fengycins, surfactins, lytic enzymes, subtilisin and iturin. Latest results will be presented.