Yeasts as a Potential Biological Agent in Plant Disease Protection and Yield Improvement—A Short Review

Abstract

The role of biocontrol products is expected to increase worldwide consumer demand and facilitate the implementation of sustainable agricultural policies. New biocontrol agents must allow for an effective crop-protection strategy in sustainable agriculture. Yeasts are microorganisms living in various niches of the environment that can be antagonists of many plant pathogens. Yeasts rapidly colonize plant surfaces, use nutrients from many sources, survive in a relatively wide temperature range, produce no harmful metabolites and have no deleterious effects on the final food products. Hence, they can be a good biocontrol agent. In this paper, the biological characteristics and potential of yeast are summarized. Additionally, the mechanisms of yeasts as plant-protection agents are presented. This includes the production of volatile organic compounds, production of killer toxins, competition for space and nutrient compounds, production of lytic enzymes, induction of plant immunity and mycoparasitism. The mechanisms of yeast interaction with plant hosts are also described, and examples of yeasts used for pre- and postharvest biocontrol are provided. Commercially available yeast-based products are listed and challenges for yeast-based products are described.