Flagellin and elongation factor of Bacillus velezensis (VB7) reprogramme the immune response in tomato towards the management of GBNV infection

The present study investigates the reprogramming of plant defense system, upon interaction with MAMP (Microbe Associated Molecular Pattern) gene products including, flagellin (Flg) and elongation factor (EF-Tu) of Bacillus velezensis (VB7) and groundnut bud necrosis virus (GBNV) in tomato (Shivam). The MAMP gene products induced the plant defense genes including, PAL, PPO, LOX, JAR, MYC2 and PDF 1.2. Secondary metabolites of Bacillus spp. at 1000 parts per million (ppm) concentration effectively reduced GBNV symptom expression in cowpea (CO7) up to 83.1 % compared to untreated, GBNV inoculated, control. The secondary metabolites from B. velezensis (VB7) and B. licheniformis (Soya 1) reduced GBNV symptoms in cowpea (CO7) up to 1.7 lesions/cm2 leaf area compared to 8.6 lesions/cm2 in virus inoculated control. Further, field study revealed that the combined application of B. velezensis (VB7) and B. licheniformis (Soya1) at 1% (10 mL/L) as, soil and foliar application reduced the percent disease incidence (PDI) up to 10.5 (PDI) compared to 28.4 (PDI) in untreated control plants. Besides, it also improved the plant growth and yield up to 23.5 tonnes/ha compared to 13.8 tonnes/ha in untreated control.