Certain beneficial soil bacteria — particularly Bacillus thuringiensis — can protect tomato plants from a devastating fungal-like pathogen called Phytophthora capsici, dramatically boosting root and shoot growth while reducing disease. Researchers used advanced chemical imaging to map exactly how these bacteria fight the pathogen at a molecular level.
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Bacillus thuringiensis-treated tomato plants exposed to Phytophthora capsici showed a 94.4% increase in root length and 74.0% increase in shoot height compared to pathogen-only plants
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Two of four Bacillus species (B. thuringiensis and B. subtilis) were effective both in lab dishes and in live greenhouse plants, while the other two only worked in lab conditions
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Chemical imaging (DESI-MSI) identified seven distinct molecular interaction zones between B. thuringiensis and P. capsici in dual culture, mapping the biochemical battlefield for the first time
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