Biocontrol endophytes Bacillus subtilis R31 influence the quality, transcriptome and metabolome of sweet corn

Mingwei Shao; Yanhong Chen; Qingyou Gong; Shuang Miao; Chunji Li; Yunhao Sun; Di Qin; Xiaojian Guo; Xun Yan; Ping Cheng; Guohui Yu

doi:10.7717/peerj.14967

Biocontrol endophytes Bacillus subtilis R31 influence the quality, transcriptome and metabolome of sweet corn

PeerJ. 2023 Mar 2:11:e14967. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14967. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mingwei Shao^#^{1

2

3

4}, Yanhong Chen^#⁵, Qingyou Gong⁵, Shuang Miao^{1

2

3

4}, Chunji Li^{1

2

3

4}, Yunhao Sun^{1

2

3

4}, Di Qin^{1

2

3

4}, Xiaojian Guo^{1

2

3

4}, Xun Yan^{1

2

3

4}, Ping Cheng^{1

2

3

4}, Guohui Yu^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ College of Agriculture and Biology, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China.
² Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control on Fruits and Vegetables in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guanghzou, China.
⁴ Guangdong University Key Laboratory for Sustainable Control of Fruit and Vegetable Diseases and Pests, Guangdong, China.
⁵ Zhuhai Modern Agriculture Development Center, Zhuhai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

During colonization of soil and plants, biocontrol bacteria can effectively regulate the physiological metabolism of plants and induce disease resistance. To illustrate the influence of Bacillus subtilis R31 on the quality, transcriptome and metabolome of sweet corn, field studies were conducted at a corn experimental base in Zhuhai City. The results show that, after application of B. subtilis R31, sweet corn was more fruitful, with a 18.3 cm ear length, 5.0 cm ear diameter, 0.4 bald head, 403.9 g fresh weight of single bud, 272.0 g net weight of single ear, and 16.5 kernels sweetness. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses indicate that differentially expressed genes related to plant-pathogen interactions, MAPK signaling pathway-plant, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis were significantly enriched. Moreover, the 110 upregulated DAMs were mainly involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis and flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathways. Our study provides a foundation for investigating the molecular mechanisms by which biocontrol bacteria enhance crop nutrition and taste through biological means or genetic engineering at the molecular level.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis R31; Biocontrol bacterium; Metabolomics; Sweet corn; Transcriptomics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacillus subtilis* / genetics
Endophytes / genetics
Metabolome
Transcriptome*
Vegetables
Zea mays / genetics

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Guangdong Provincial Key Construction Discipline Research Ability Enhancement Project (2021ZDJS002), the Zhuhai City Science and Technology Plan Project (Grant No. ZH22036207200005PWC), the Bacteria and Microbial Pesticide R&D Team Construction Fund (Grant No. KA200540402/KA21031h 102), the Guangdong University Key Laboratory for Sustainable Control of Fruit and Vegetable Diseases and Pests (KA21031C508) and the Starting Research Fund from Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering (Grant No. KA200540843/KA190577885/KA210319207). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.