Cellulase activity and succession of fungi in soil amended with sodium chloride, organic matter and Ca-superphosphate

Effects of Cellulytic Enzymes on Phytophthora cinnamomi

ABSTRACT Two enzyme systems, cellulase (beta-1,4-glucanase) and laminarinase (beta-1,3-glucanase), were added to soil extracts to simulate (in vitro) lytic components found in mulches suppressive to Phytophthora cinnamomi. Concentration ranges of each enzyme were incubated with Phytophthora cinnamomi mycelium, zoospores, zoospores cysts, and zoospore-infected excised roots to evaluate the roles of each enzyme in potential control of avocado root rot disease. Cellulase significantly retarded the development of zoosporangia and chlamydospores when mycelia were incubated in soil extract containing the enzyme at concentrations greater than 10 units/ml. Zoospore production was also reduced by cellulase but not by laminarinase. Laminarinase had little effect on zoosporangia or chlamydospore formation. At high concentrations, laminarinase was consistently more effective at preventing encystment than cellulase. Chlamydospores preformed in root tips were immune to the lytic effects of all treatments except cellulase at 100 units/ml. Zoospores placed in enzyme solutions and plated on a selective medium survived high cellulase concentrations and formed colonies, but there were fewer surviving zoospores when laminarinase was present at greater than 10 units/ml. Low concentrations of cellulase stimulated infection of excised roots, however, low concentrations of laminarinase prevented infection. Cellulase and laminarinase have different effects on the structures of the Phytophthora cinnamomi life history, however, each enzyme may have a role in reduction of inoculum.

Association of Cellulytic Enzyme Activities in Eucalyptus Mulches with Biological Control of Phytophthora cinnamomi

ABSTRACT A series of samples were taken from mulched and unmulched trees starting at the surface of mulch or soil to a 15 cm soil depth, forming a vertical transect. Saprophytic fungi isolated from the soil samples on rose bengal medium and surveyed visually were most abundant in mulches and at the interface of mulch and soil (P < 0.05). Microbial activity as assayed by the hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate was significantly greater in mulch layers than in soils. Cellulase and laminarinase enzyme activities were greatest in upper mulch layers and rapidly decreased in soil layers (P < 0.05). Enzyme activities against Phytophthora cinnamomi cell walls were significantly greater in mulch than in soil layers. When Phytophthora cinnamomi was incubated in situ at the various transect depths, it was most frequently lysed at the interface between soil and mulch (P < 0.001). Roots that grew in mulch layers were significantly less infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi than roots formed in soil layers. In mulched soil, roots were commonly formed at the mulch-soil interface where Phytophthora populations were reduced, whereas roots in unmulched soil were numerous at the 7.5 cm depth where Phytophthora cinnamomi was prevalent. Enzyme activities were significantly and positively correlated with each other, microbial activity, and saprophytic fungal populations, but significantly and negatively correlated with Phytophthora recovery.