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Abstract
Carbon disulfide (CS
2) is a colorless, volatile, foul-smelling, fungicidal liquid that is produced by some plants. The authors determined the ability of a model CS
2-producing plant,
Mimosa pudica, to affect the rhizoplane colonization of six species of soil fungi. Tomato (
Lycopersicon esculentum), a plant which does not produce CS
2, was the control. In plate assays, the mycelia of
Fusarium moniliforme, Pythium aphanidermatum, Phytophthora sp
., Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, and
Trichoderma viride showed variable responses to CS
2, but all mycelia were inhibited by 4 mg CS
2 ml
-1. Inhibition of spore germination of
F. moniliforme, P. aphanidermatum, and
T. viride was similar to mycelial inhibition. When gnotobiotic tomato or
M. pudica plants were inoculated with
F. moniliforme or
T. viride, spore counts were similar in the nonrhizosphere, but 10- to 100-fold lower on the rhizoplane of
M. pudica than those of tomato. When the roots of 11-d-old gnotobiotic tomato or
M. pudica plants were each inoculated separately with one of the six fungal species, abundant hyphae of all six fungal species were observed on the roots of tomato after 7 days. In contrast, roots of
M. pudica showed many or abundant hyphae of
R. solani and
S. rolfsii but no or few hyphae of the remaining species. These observations were confirmed by ergosterol analysis. Plant-generated CS
2 may account for this decreased fungal colonization, although other compounds may also be responsible.
Citation
Feng, Z.; Hartel, P.G.; Roncadori, R.W.; Sung, Shi-Jean S. 1998. Inhibition of fungal colonization on the rhizoplane of the CS
2 - producing plant,
Mimosa pudica L. In: Box, J.E., ed. Root demographics and their efficiencies in sustainable agriculture, grasslands and forest ecosystems. Dordrecht, Netherlands:Kluwer Academic Publishers: 115-126.
