Phylogenomics based Identification of Microbial Biocontrol agent against Alternaria solani

Alternaria solani is a fungal pathogen causing early blight infection in several solanaceous crops resulting in an annual yield loss up to 79%. Understanding the ecological niche and microbial interactions can help us contemplate new biocontrol agents against A. solani. This article combines the existing knowledge on ecology and biocontrol of A. solani, with the antagonist Bacillus subtilis ZD01 to identify potential biocontrol properties in its phylogenetically related species. Various physical, chemical and biological factors influencing the growth of A. solani were analyzed along with retrieving the whole genome sequence of B. subtilis ZD01. Using bioinformatic tool for Phylogenomics, genomes that share high similarity with B. subtilis ZD01 were identified. Resulting genomes were compared for the similarity in pathways, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and biosynthetic gene clusters using Patric 3.6.12 and antiSMASH 6.0 web tools. Based on these, two new strains of bacteria were identified which share a similar ecological niche with A. solani and shares significantly similar properties with B. subtilis ZD01. Both strains were found to produce known clusters of bacillibactin, fengycin, surfactin and terpene which further strengthens its biocontrol potential. This study provides evidence suggesting new biocontrol agents and need for further exploration to identify unexplored microbes for plant-protection.