Microbial basis of Fusarium wilt suppression by Allium cultivation

Crop rotation and intercropping with Allium plants suppresses Fusarium wilt in various crops. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to assess the role of microorganisms inhabiting Allium rhizospheres and antifungal compounds produced by Allium roots in Fusarium wilt suppression by Allium cultivation. Suppression of cucumber Fusarium wilt and the pathogen multiplication by Allium (Welsh onion and/or onion)-cultivated soils were eliminated by heat treatment at 60 °C, whereas those by Welsh onion-root extract were lost at 40 °C. The addition of antibacterial antibiotics eliminated the suppressive effect of Welsh onion-cultivated soil on pathogen multiplication, suggesting the contribution of antagonistic gram-negative bacteria to the soil suppressiveness. The Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons revealed that genus Flavobacterium was the predominant group that preferentially accumulated in Allium rhizospheres. Flavobacterium species recovered from the rhizosphere soils of these Allium plants suppressed Fusarium wilt on cucumber seedlings. Furthermore, confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that Flavobacterium isolates inhibited the multiplication of the pathogen in soil. Taken together, we infer that the accumulation of antagonistic Flavobacterium species plays a key role in Fusarium wilt suppression by Allium cultivation.