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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1517157
Genomic configuration of Bacillus subtilis (NMB01) unveils the antiviral activity against Orthotospovirus arachinecrosis infecting tomato
Provisionally accepted
Gayathri M 1 Sharanya R 1
Renukadevi P 1*
Varagur Ganesan Malathi 2
Amalendu Ghosh 2
Saranya Nallusamy 1 Varanavasiappan S 1
Nakkeeran S 1*
Saad Hussin Alkahtani 3- 1 Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
- 2 Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
- 3 King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Orthotospovirus arachinecrosis (GBNV) infecting tomato is a devastating viral pathogen responsible for severe yield losses of up to 100%. Considering the significance of the plant growth promoting bacteria to induce innate immunity, attempts were made to evaluate the antiviral efficacy of Bacillus subtilis NMB01 against GBNV in cowpea and tomato. Foliar application of B. subtilis NMB01 @ 1.5 percent onto the leaves of cowpea and tomato followed by challenge inoculation with GBNV, significantly reduced the incidence of GBNV from 80 to 90 % in response to untreated inoculated control. Hence, we had a quest to understand, if any genes were contributing towards the suppression of GBNV in assay hosts. To unveil the secrecy, whole genome sequencing of B. subtilis NMB01 was carried out. The genome sequence of NMB01 revealed the presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, including non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) and polyketide synthases (PKS) which also encoded bacteriocins and antimicrobial peptides. The pan-genome analysis identified 1640 core genes, 4885 dispensable genes and 60 unique genes, including MAMP genes that induce host immune responses. Comparative genome and proteome analysis with other genomes of B. subtilis strains in public domain through orthovenn analysis revealed the presence of 4241 protein,3695 clusters and 655 singletons in our study isolate. Further, NMB01-treated tomato plants increased the levels of defense-related genes (MAPKK1, WRKY33, PR1, PAL, and NPR1), enhanced immune system priming against GBNV infection. These findings suggest that B. subtilis NMB01 can be used as a promising biological control agent for managing plant viral diseases sustainably.
Keywords: GBNV, qPCR, Whole genome, Pan genome, Orthovenn
Received: 25 Oct 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 M, R, P, Malathi, Ghosh, Nallusamy, S, S and Alkahtani. 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:
Renukadevi P, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
Nakkeeran S, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
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