Cotton Leaf Curl Disease Suppression by Interspecies Microbiome Transplantation

In this study, the plant microbiome is proposed as a favorable environmental and economy friendly alternative to induce CLCuD suppression in the CLCuD-susceptible specie Gossypium hirsutum. The study employed the microbiome of the naturally immune diploid species of cotton, Gossypium arboreum, as a hub of diverse bacterial community. Both the rhizospheric and phyllospheric microbiotas of G. hirsutum (PFV1 and PFV2) and G. arboreum (FDH228) species with varying tolerance levels to CLCuD were isolated. The rhizospheric and phyllospheric microbiotas were termed as Microbial Fractions (MFs) and were transplanted to young G. hirsutum and G. arboreum seedlings, with null microbiota development, through soil drench method.