Ana Bejarano

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of Trento

Developing microbial-based biopesticides represents a promising eco-friendly strategy for the sustainable management of plant pathogens. However, the use of microbial biocontrol agents (mBCAs) as biopesticides is often limited, mainly due to the vulnerability of the microorganisms to environmental factors and microbial competition, and the difficul...

Soil salinity is a major problem affecting crop production worldwide. Lately, there have been great research efforts in increasing the salt tolerance of plants through the inoculation of plant growth-promoting endophytic bacteria. However, their ability to promote plant growth under no-stress and salinity-stress conditions remains largely uncertain...

The rhizosphere is a dynamic region governed by complex microbial interactions where diffusible communication signals produced by bacteria continuously shape the gene expression patterns of individual species and regulate fundamental traits for adaptation to the rhizosphere environment. Lysobacter spp. are common bacterial inhabitants of the rhizos...

Determining the mode of action of microbial biocontrol agents plays a key role in their development and registration as commercial biopesticides. The biocontrol rhizobacterium Lysobacter capsici AZ78 (AZ78) is able to inhibit a vast array of plant pathogenic oomycetes and Gram-positive bacteria due to the release of antimicrobial secondary metaboli...

Intraspecies, interspecies and interkingdom signalling occurring via diffusible communication signals (DCSs) continuously shapes the gene expression patterns of individual bacterial species in the rhizosphere, affecting bacterial functions within the rhizosphere microbial community. To unravel how DCSs influence rhizosphere competence of plant bene...

Inhibitory activity of the biocontrol bacterial strain Lysobacter capsici AZ78 is related to the production of cyclo(l-Pro-l-Tyr), a 2,5-diketopiperazine with in vitro and in vivo toxic activity against Phytophthora infestans and Plasmopara viticola. Further investigation of culture filtrate organic extracts showed its ability to produce other 2,5-...

The application of microbial based biopesticides has become a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals to prevent yield losses due to plant pathogens. However, microbial based biopesticides are often unsuccessfully formulated and do not meet the demanding regulatory standards required by the agencies, which hinders their commercialization. H...

Damages of the (agro)ecosystem by extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the global dying of bee populations possibly linked to pesticide spraying, and stricter regulations for pesticide use together with successful use of microbials in IPM programs are pushing on the development and commercialization of new microbial products and a...

The application of beneficial, plant-associated microorganisms is a sustainable approach to improving crop performance in agriculture. However, microbial inoculants are often susceptible to prolonged periods of storage and deleterious environmental factors, which negatively impact their viability and ultimately limit efficacy in the field. This par...

Herein, we present a workflow for the development of talc-based microbial inoculants for foliar spray consisting of four steps. These include together with decision-making criteria (1) the selection of additives based on their capability to wet juvenile maize leaves, (2) their adhesion on the plant, (3) their interaction with the biological systems...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mineral carriers bentonite, silica and talc as potential supports for immobilization of the plant growth promoting bacterium Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, and determine the factors influencing bacterial adsorption to provide stable and efficient microbial inoculants for use in the field. Results revea...

The species Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) from the Tribe Phaseolae is indigenous to Africa and was introduced from this continent into some European countries. In a previous work, we analysed the core and symbiotic genes of several slow-growing rhizobial strains nodulating V. unguiculata in a soil from Extremadura. Most of them belong to the genus Bra...

Vigna unguiculata was introduced into Europe from its distribution centre in Africa, and it is currently being cultivated in Mediterranean regions with adequate edapho-climatic conditions where the slow growing rhizobia nodulating this legume have not yet been studied. Previous studies based on rrs gene and ITS region analyses have shown that Brady...