Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the plasticizers used in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry. It is known to be easily released into the environment. In this study, we investigated effects of DEHP on growth, metabolic pathway, and virulence gene expression in soil-borne bacterial plant pathogen, Pectobacterium carotovorum SCC1 using in vitro assays. As a result, DEHP at 20 μg mL-1 did not affect the growth, cell membrane permeability, or ATPase activity of P. carotovorum SCC1. However, it decreased succinyl-CoA synthase (SCS) activity in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Relative expression levels of virulence genes encoding pectate lyase and pectin were differentially influenced by DEHP treatment. These results suggest that biological characteristics of P. carotovorum might be influenced by DEHP in soil.

Drought stress is one of major environmental stresses in plants; this leads to reduce plant growth and crop yield. In this study, we selected fungal isolate for mitigating drought stress in pepper plants. To do this, 41 fungi were isolated from rhizosphere or bulk soils of various plants in Jeju, Gangneung, Hampyeong in Korea. Out of 41 isolates, we screened two isolates without phytotoxicity through seed germination of tomato, pepper, and cabbage treated with fungal spores; through following plant assay, we selected GL02 as a candidate for alleviating drought stress in pepper plants. As a result of greenhouse test of pepper plants in drought condition, the stomatal conductance on leaves of pepper plants treated with GL02 was increased, whereras the malondialdehyde (MDA) and electrolyte leakage were decreased compared to that in control plants. When stressed plants were rewatered, stomatal conductance of the plants treated with GL02 was increased; the electrolyte leakage was decreased. Based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing analysis, isolate GL02 was belonging to genus Trichoderma. Taken together, drought stress in pepper plants treated with GL02 was alleviated, when it was rewatered after drought-stressed, the plants could be recovered effectively. Therefore, Trichoderma sp. GL02 could be used as a bio-fertilizer to alleviate drought stress in pepper plants.

Agricultural practices are known to have a crucial influence not only on soil physico-chemical properties but also on microbial communities. To investigate the effect of farming practices on soil microbial communities, a total of 10 soil samples were collected, including five conventional and five organic farming soils cultivated with peppers in plastic greenhouse. We conducted barcorded-pyrosequencing of V1-V3 regions of 16S rRNA genes to examine soil microbial communities of two different farming practices. Taxonomic classification of the microbial communities at the phylum level indicated that a total of 22 bacterial phyla were present across all samples. Among them, seven abundant phyla (>3%) including Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes were found, and Proteobacteria (33.0 ± 5.7%), Actinobacteria (19.9 ± 9.7%), and Firmicutes (13.6 ± 5.0%) comprised more than 66% of the relative abundance of the microbial communities. Organic farming soils showed higher relative abundances of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, while Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi were more abundant in conventional farming soils. Notably, the genera Bacillus (higher in organic farming soils) and Streptomyces (higher in conventional farming soils) exhibited significant variation in relative abundance between organic and conventional farming soils. Finally, correlation analysis identified significant relationships (p<0.05) between soil chemical properties, in particular, pH and organic matter content and microbial communities. Taken together, this study demonstrated that the changes of soil physico-chemical properties by agricultural farming practices effected significantly (p<0.05) on soil microbial communities.

국내 일부 시설재배지는 장기간 과도한 양분 투입 등에 의한 염류 집적 현상이 문제가 되어왔으며, 최근 이상기온에 따른 온도장해에 의한 피해도 발생하고 있다. 이러한 현상에 대해 친환경적으로 대처하기 위하여 고염류와 온도 스트레스에 대해 작물에 내성을 증강시키는 미생물을 선발하였다. 국내 토양에서 분리한 1,944균주중 고염류 또는 온도 스트레스 조건에서 세균의 생장과 식물생장촉진 관련 특성(IAA 생성, ACC deaminase 활성, 인산가용화능)을 고려하여 20균주를 1차 선발(전체 균주의 1.03%)하였다. 1차 선발한 20균주 중 토마토 식물검정을 통해 고염류 또는 온도스트레스에 대한 내성을 유도하는 7세균(1차 선발균주의 35%, 전체 균주의 0.36%)을 단계적으로 선발할 수 있었다. 선발된 세균은 16S rRNA 유전자의 염기서열 분석을 통해 모두 Bacillus 속에 속하는 것으로 확인되었다. 이러한 결과로 선발된 7균주는 토마토의 고염류 또는 온도 스트레스에 대한 효과적인 미생물 제제로 활용이 가능한 것을 확인할 수 있었다.