Plant-Microbiome Interactions for Bacterial Wilt Suppression in Modern Tobacco Production

Abstract

The soil-borne bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum continues to represent a major threat to flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) production in the southeastern United States and other major producing regions throughout the world. Beneficial microorganisms naturally found in the soil represent an alternative solution for R. solanacearum’s suppression that may reduce soil health impacts of current management strategies. Biological controls and microbiota manipulation together represent a unique opportunity to reduce disease caused by R. solanacearum. Current high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies and advances in bioinformatic analyses enable culture-independent approaches to study root-associated microorganisms and their interactions. The structure and dynamics of tobacco root-associated microbiota, as well as functional capacities of certain taxa, may improve how we apply disease management strategies in the field. Through this review we summarize our current understanding on (i) the role of bacterial microbiota on R. solanacearum survival, (ii) the impacts of current management strategies on the soil bacterial communities, (iii) the rhizospheric and core microbiome composition and inheritance, (iv) the manipulation of the microbiota for enhanced disease suppression, and (v) the shortcomings of the application of plant-associated bacteria for disease suppression.