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The Caenorhabditis elegans assay: a tool to evaluate the pathogenic potential of bacterial biocontrol agents

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Abstract

Bacterial biocontrol agents (BCAs) open up the possibility of controlling plant pathogens in an environmentally friendly way. Although they are naturally occurring microbes, some of them can cause diseases in humans. For successful registration it is necessary to test potentially adverse effects on the human health of at-risk candidates. Existing pathogenicity assays are cost-intensive, time-consuming and furthermore they are often inappropriate for facultative pathogens. We developed a new, fast and inexpensive bioassay on the basis of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a well-accepted model organism to study bacterial pathogenicity. A selection of eight strains from clinical and environmental origin as well as potential and commercial BCAs from the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Serratia and Stenotrophomonas were screened for their potential to kill the nematode in an in vitro agar plate assay. Furthermore, the motility and reproductive behaviour of nematodes exposed to strains were tested in comparison with those fed by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa QC14-3-8 (positive control) and the negative control Escherichia coli OP50. Commercial as well as potential biocontrol strains did not display any adverse effects in all tests. In contrast, the C. elegans assay showed slight effects for clinical and environmental Stenotrophomonas strains. Results showed that the nematode C. elegans provides a model system to indicate the pathogenic potential of BCAs in a very early stage of product development.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Barbara Fetz and Monika Schneider-Trampitsch for valuable technical assistance. The work was supported by a grant of the Austrian Science Foundation FWF to G.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Christin Zachow, Heidemarie Pirker, Christian Westendorf & Gabriele Berg

  2. KWS SAAT AG, Grimsehlstraße 31, 37555, Einbeck, 37555, Germany

    Ralf Tilcher

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  1. Christin Zachow
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  2. Heidemarie Pirker
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  3. Christian Westendorf
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  4. Ralf Tilcher
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  5. Gabriele Berg
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Correspondence to Gabriele Berg.

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Zachow, C., Pirker, H., Westendorf, C. et al. The Caenorhabditis elegans assay: a tool to evaluate the pathogenic potential of bacterial biocontrol agents. Eur J Plant Pathol 125, 367–376 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-009-9486-3

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