Combining cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches to select effective bacterial biocontrol agents

Abstract: In previous studies, we performed cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches to describe the microbiome in healthy, Flavescence dorée-diseased or -recovered grapevine plants to identify putative biocontrol agents. Obtained results allowed the identification of two strains, colonizing exclusively healthy and recovered plants, that we tested for in vitro biocontrol activity. Both strain R8 (Burkholderia sp.) and R16 (Paenibacillus pasadenensis) demonstrated to control the growth of fungal pathogens of grapevine such as Botrytis cinerea and Phomopsis viticola. Further studies are planned to determine the strains’ efficacy against other pathogens, including phytoplasma, and effective in planta biocontrol activity.