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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1433358

Tannins and copper sulphate as antimicrobial agents to prevent contamination of Posidonia oceanica seedling culture for restoration purposes

Provisionally accepted
Adriana Alagna Adriana Alagna 1Vincenzo M. Giacalone Vincenzo M. Giacalone 2Arturo Zenone Arturo Zenone 3*Marco Martinez Marco Martinez 3Giovanni D'Anna Giovanni D'Anna 4Gaspare Buffa Gaspare Buffa 2Caterina J. Cavalca Caterina J. Cavalca 2Anna Poli Anna Poli 5Giovanna C. Varese Giovanna C. Varese 5Valeria Prigione Valeria Prigione 5Fabio Badalamenti Fabio Badalamenti 3
  • 1 Sicily Marine Centre, Anton Dohrn Zoological Station Naples, Milazzo, Italy
  • 2 Institute for the Study of Anthropogenic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment, Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment, National Research Council (CNR), Rome, Italy
  • 3 Institute for the Anthropic impacts and Sustainability in marine environment - CNR, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
  • 4 Institute for the Anthropic impacts and Sustainability in marine environment - CNR, Castellammare del golfo, Italy
  • 5 University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Seed-based restoration methods are increasingly recognized as a relevant tool contributing to halt and reverse the loss of seagrass meadows while providing genetic and evolutionary benefit for the conservation of these habitats. Ad-hoc protocols aimed at maximizing the survival of plantlets obtained from seeds in cultivation systems are therefore required. Previous trials of seedling culture of Posidonia oceanica, the dominant seagrass of the Mediterranean Sea, recorded up to 40% loss due to mould development. In this study we aim to (i) identify the putative causal agents of seed decay and (ii) test the efficacy of copper sulphate (0.2 and 2 ppm) and of tannin-based products derived from chestnut, tara and quebracho in reducing seed and seedling decay, while assessing possible phytotoxic effects on plant development. Halophytophthora lusitanica, H. thermoambigua and a putative new Halophytophtora species were identified as possible causal agents of seed loss. The antimicrobial agents (copper and tannins) reduced seed contamination by 20%, although copper sulphate at 2 ppm strongly inhibited the root growth. Among tannins, chestnut and tara reduced seeds germination by up to 75% and decreased shoot and root development, while quebracho showed a less severe phytotoxic effect. The use of copper sulphate at 0.2 ppm is therefore recommended to prevent P. oceanica seedling loss in culture facilities since it reduces seed contamination with no phytotoxic effects. Our results contribute to improving the seedling culture of one the key species of the Mediterranean Sea, increasing propagule availability for restoration purposes.

    Keywords: Posidonia oceanica, seed cultivation, Tannins, Copper sulphate, Habitat restoration, pathogen, Peronosporales, Halophytophthora

    Received: 15 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alagna, Giacalone, Zenone, Martinez, D'Anna, Buffa, Cavalca, Poli, Varese, Prigione and Badalamenti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Arturo Zenone, Institute for the Anthropic impacts and Sustainability in marine environment - CNR, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

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