Endophytic Bacillus subtilis TR21 Improves Banana Plant Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense and Promotes Root Growth by Upregulating the Jasmonate and Brassinosteroid Biosynthesis Pathways

The banana (Musa spp.) industry experiences dramatic annual losses from Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) disease, which is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (FOC). Pisang Awak banana Fenza No. 1 (Musa spp. cv. Fenza No. 1), a major banana cultivar with high resistance to FOC race 4, is considered to be ideal for growth in problematic areas. However, Fenza No. 1 is still affected by FOC race 1 in the field. TR21 is an endophytic Bacillus subtilis strain isolated from orchids (Dendrobium sp.). Axillary spraying of banana plants with TR21 controls FWB, decreasing the growth period and increasing yields in the field. In this study, we established that TR21 increases root growth in different monocotyledonous plant species. By axillary inoculation, TR21 induced a similar transcriptomic change as that induced by FOC race 1 but also upregulated the biosynthetic pathways for the phytohormones brassinosteroid and jasmonate in Fenza No. 1 root tissues, indicating that TR21 increases FWB resistance, shortens growth period, and increases yield of banana by inducing specific transcriptional reprogramming and modulating phytohormone levels. These findings will contribute to the identification of candidate genes related to plant resistance against fungi in a non-model system and facilitate further study and exploitation of endophytic biocontrol agents.