REPABIO

Comunicaciones en congresos

• Comunicaciones en la I Reunión del Grupo “Interacciones bióticas en Plantas” de la Sociedad Española de Biología de Plantas (IBP24). Granada, Spain, 22-24/05/2024:
  • Abdellatif Bahaji Nazih. Sustainable strategies to improve crop resistance against pathogens through the use of fungal culture filtrate as effective stimulants.
  • Alicia Fernández San-Millán. Fungal filtrates for biocontrol of postharvest Botrytis cinerea infection on tomato fruit.
• Comunicaciones en la reunion XXVI MEETING OF THE SPANISH SOCIETY OF PLANT BIOLOGY. Murcia, Spain, 01-04/07/2025:
  • FUNGAL CULTURE FILTRATES AS A POTENTIAL STRATEGY TO IMPROVE PLANT RESISTANCE AGAINST PATHOGENS. Abdellatif Bahaji Nazih, Angela Maria Sanchez Lopez, Luis Maria Larraya Reta, Maria Inmaculada Farran, Alicia Fernandez San Millan, Francisco Jose Munoz, Edurne Baroja Fernandez.
  • BIOCONTROL EFFECTS OF FUNGAL CULTURE FILTRATES AGAINST BOTRYTIS CINEREA. Alicia Fernández-San Millán, Inmaculada Farran, Abdellatif Bahaji Nazih, Ángela-María Sánchez López, Francisco José Muñoz, Edurne Baroja-Fernández, Luis María Larraya Reta.

The effects of climate change promote the spread of increasingly destructive pathogens, threatening the survival of crops of agronomic importance. Currently, chemicals are being used to control these pathogens and improve crop yield and productivity. However, these products have been shown to damage the environment in the long term and can have detrimental effects on human health. This situation represents an increasing threat to food security, and the global challenge in the coming years will be to ensure it in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. Consequently, developing new strategies to enhance pathogen resistance, boost crop yields, and minimise the environmental impact of agrochemicals is a priority. One of the most promising approaches to achieving more sustainable crops is the use of biostimulants derived from beneficial microorganisms.

Building on previous results from the IdAB-CSIC research group, we demonstrated that microorganisms release metabolites which, when applied to plants via irrigation, stimulate both aerial and root growth, enhance crop yields, and enrich the beneficial soil microbiota (Sánchez-López et al., 2016ab; Ameztoy et al., 2019; García-Gómez et al., 2019–2020; Baroja-Fernández et al., 2021; patents PCT/ES2011/000125 and EPI6382146.5).

To advance the development of biotechnological strategies that sustainably and environmentally enhance crop yields in the context of climate change, a project has been proposed with the primary aim of improving crop resistance to the gall-forming nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) through the use of fungal biostimulants.

To achieve this goal, we set the following specific objectives:

1. Enhance the resistance of tomato plants to the gall-forming nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) by applying cell-free culture filtrates (CFs) of the fungus Alternaria alternata.
   • Select the optimal growth time of the fungus alternata for the production of filtrates with biostimulant properties that induce systemic resistance in plants.
   • Determine the dose of biostimulant to be applied to maximise the systemic resistance-inducing effect in tomato plants against incognita and B. cinerea.
2. Study the effect of irrigation with the biostimulant on the yield of tomato plants infested with incognita.
3. Investigate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in the improvement of plant resistance produced by the biostimulant against the pathogens incognita and B. cinerea.
4. Study the direct nematicidal and fungicidal effect of the biostimulant against incognita and B. cinerea.

The project was successfully completed, achieving all planned objectives, and the results support the hypothesis that the metabolites retained in fungal CFs function as environmentally friendly biostimulants and biocides, offering a sustainable alternative to commercial chemical pesticides.

The following conclusions can be drawn from this project:

1. The application of Alternaria alternata CF has biocidal potential since (i) it inhibits the hatching of the eggs of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita and (ii) reduces the viability of the J2 larvae of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita.
2. The preventive application of this CF enhances the plant’s systemic resistance, making it more resilient to potential nematode infections.
3. The treatment with this type of biostimulant improves the yield of the tomato crop by preparing the plant to better cope with the subsequent infestation with nematodes. This is because it improves the development and photosynthetic capacity of the plant and reverses the hormonal changes caused by the infestation.
4. The application of Penicillium aurantiogriseum CF has biocidal potential as it reduces the growth of the fungus Botrytis cinerea.
5. The preventive application of this CF in post-harvest improves the systemic resistance of the fruit, making it more resistant to infections by cinerea.

The results of this project confirm that this type of biostimulant represents a sustainable and competitive biotechnological tool in the market, capable of reducing agrochemical use while maintaining crop yields.

It should also be noted that, based on these results, we see value in collaborating with other SINAI agents to assess the technological and economic feasibility of scaling up production of this biostimulant, as well as its sustainability, through a life cycle analysis.