Jesús Mercado-Blanco

Spanish National Research Council | CSIC · Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC)

Trees are crucial for sustaining life on our planet. Forests and land devoted to tree crops do not only supply essential edible products to humans and animals, but also additional goods such as paper or wood. They also prevent soil erosion, support microbial, animal, and plant biodiversity, play key roles in nutrient and water cycling processes, an...

Background: Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO) is caused by the soilborne fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae. One of the best VWO management measures is the use of tolerant/resistant olive cultivars. Knowledge on the olive-associated microbiome and its potential relationship with tolerance to biotic constraints is almost null. The aims of this wor...

Verticillium (Verticillium dahliae Kleb.) wilt is one of the most devastating diseases affecting olive (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea var. europaea) cultivation. Its effective control strongly relies on integrated management strategies. Olive cultivation systems are experiencing important changes (e.g., high-density orchards, etc.) aiming at imp...

The impact of the versatile biocontrol and plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria Pseudomonas simiae PICF7 on the banana holobiont under controlled conditions was investigated. We examine the fate of this biological control agent (BCA) upon introduction in the soil, the effect on the banana root microbiota, and the influence on specific host genetic...

Background Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb, is one of the most threatening diseases affecting olive cultivation. An integrated disease management strategy is recommended for the effective control of VWO. Within this framework, the use of biological control agents (BCAs) is a sustainable and environmentally frie...

The holobiont concept has revolutionized our understanding of plant-associated microbiomes and their significance for the development, fitness, growth and resilience of their host plants. The olive tree holds an iconic status within the Mediterranean Basin. Innovative changes introduced in olive cropping systems, driven by the increasing demand of...

Soil health and root-associated microbiome are interconnected factors involved in plant health. The use of manure amendment on agricultural fields exerts a direct benefit on soil nutrient content and water retention, among others. However, little is known about the impact of manure amendment on the root-associated microbiome, particularly in woody...

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by Verticillium dahliae, is a major concern in many olive-growing countries. An efficient VWO control measure is the use of tolerant/resistant cultivars. Low information is available about olive secondary metabolites and its relationship with VWO tolerance. In this study, a comprehensive metabolic profiling...

El olivo y su microbioma asociado constituyen un meta-organismo. La miríada de microorganismos que habitan en su interior o coloni-zando la superficie de sus tejidos aéreos y subterráneos forman una compleja comunidad que influye decisivamente en el crecimiento, desarrollo, salud, productividad y capacidad del árbol para confron-tar situaciones adv...

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by the soil borne fungus Verticillium dahliae, is one of the most relevant diseases affecting this crop worldwide. One of the best VWO management strategies is the use of tolerant cultivars. Scarce information is available about physiological and structural responses in the leaves of olive cultivars displayi...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.08.035.].

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense ( Foc ) tropical race 4 (TR4) is threatening banana production because of its increasing spread. Biological control approaches have been widely studied and constitute interesting complementary measures to integrated disease management strategies. They have been based mainly on the use of single biological control a...

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by the soil-borne vascular pathogen Verticillium dahliae, is one of the most devastating diseases affecting olive, the woody crop. One of the best VWO management measures is the use of tolerant cultivars. Yet, our knowledge about defense mechanisms that operate at the root level to explain tolerance to this...

The production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represents a promising strategy of plant-beneficial bacteria to control soil-borne phytopathogens. Pseudomonas sp. PICF6 and Pseudomonas simiae PICF7 are two indigenous inhabitants of olive roots displaying effective biological control against Verticillium dahliae. Additionally, strain PICF7 is ab...

In their natural environment, plants live in close interaction with complex populations of microorganisms, including rhizobacteria species commonly referred to as ‘Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria’ (PGPR). A growing body of evidence demonstrates the importance of sugar transport in plant pathogen resistance and in plant-microorganism mutualisti...

The connection between olive genetic responses to environmental and agro-climatic conditions and the composition, structure and functioning of host-associated, belowground microbiota has never been studied under the holobiont conceptual framework. Two groups of cultivars growing under the same environmental, pedological and agronomic conditions, an...

Stress caused by drought and salinity may compromise growth and productivity of olive (Olea europaea L.) tree crops. Several studies have reported the use of beneficial rhizobacteria to alleviate symptoms produced by these stresses, which is attributed in some cases to the activity of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (ACD). A collect...

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae, is considered one of the most important diseases affecting this tree crop. One of the best VWO management measures is the use of tolerant cultivars. Remarkably, no information is available about olive functional traits and their potential relationship with tol...

Background Olive orchards are threatened by a wide range of pathogens. Of these, Verticillium dahliae has been in the spotlight for its high incidence, the difficulty to control it and the few cultivars that has increased tolerance to the pathogen. Disease resistance not only depends on detection of pathogen invasion and induction of responses by t...

This study aimed to disentangle the structure, composition, and co-occurrence relationships of the banana (cv. Dwarf Cavendish) root endophytome comparing two phenological plant stages: mother plants and suckers. Moreover, a collection of culturable root endophytes (>1000) was also generated from Canary Islands. In vitro antagonism assays against F...

Pseudomonas simiae PICF7 is an indigenous inhabitant of the olive (Olea europaea L.) rhizosphere/root endosphere and an effective biocontrol agent against Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO), caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae. This study aimed to evaluate the potential involvement of selected phenotypes of strain PICF7 in root colon...

Plants and their associated microbial communities are continuously interacting. The consequences of this complex, multi-actor dialogue are of utmost relevance for the health and development of the plant holobiont. The plant-associated microbiota is a natural source of microorganisms with plant growth-promoting abilities, including biological contro...

It is well-known that different plant species, and even plant varieties, promote different assemblages of the microbial communities associated with them. Here, we investigate how microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) undergo changes within the influence of woody plants (two olive cultivars, one tolerant and another susceptible to the soilborne...

Verticillium dahliae is the etiological agent of Verticillium wilt of olive. The virulence of Defoliating V. dahliae isolates usually displays differences and high plasticity. This work studied whether an epigenetic mechanism was involved in this plasticity. An inverse correlation between virulence and DNA methylation of protein-coding genes was fo...

La tolerancia del olivo a la verticilosis debe explorarse desde una perspectiva holística, considerando al árbol como el holobionte que es; esto es, la suma del organismo vegetal y de su microbiota asociada. El conocimiento exhaustivo de estas comunidades microbianas puede abrir nuevas vías de investigación en programas de mejora, control biológico...

The bacterial and fungal communities from the olive (Olea europaea L.) root systems have not yet been simultaneously studied. We show in this work that microbial communities from the olive root endosphere are less diverse than those from the rhizosphere. But more relevant was to unveil that olive belowground communities are mainly shaped by the gen...

There is a worldwide interest in the exploitation of beneficial plant-associated microorganisms as an alternative to pesticides for pest and disease management. It is underpinned by practical and social reasons, including safety of consumers, farmers and field workers, as well as the need for sustainable practices safeguarding the environment and p...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00616.].

Up to date, the bacterial and fungal microbial communities from the olive (Olea europaea L.) root systems have not been simultaneously studied. In this work, we show that microbial communities from the olive root endosphere are less diverse than those from the rhizosphere. But more relevant was to unveil that olive belowground communities are mainl...

Publication timeline of scientific articles dealing with Fusarium wilt of banana. Articles were retrieved from the CAB Direct database (1970–2018) by searching the keywords “Fusarium cubense” or “Panama disease” in the title and abstract (735 articles). Foc: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense; FWB: Fusarium wilt of banana.

Biological control agents studied for the control of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. The numbers indicate the scientific articles retrieved from CAB Direct database (1970–2018) by searching the keywords “Fusarium cubense” or “Panama disease” in the title and abstract.

List of in vitro experiments conducted against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) using beneficial microorganisms.

Among biotic constraints affecting olive trees cultivation worldwide, the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae is considered one of the most serious threats. Olive cultivars display differential susceptibility to the disease, but our knowledge on the pathogen's responses when infecting varieties differing in susceptibility is scarce. A comparativ...

In the last century, the banana crop and industry experienced dramatic losses due to an epidemic of Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) race 1. An even more dramatic menace is now feared due to the spread of Foc tropical race 4. Plant genetic resistance is generally considered as the most plausible strat...

The use of biological control agents (BCAs) is of interest within an integrated management strategy of Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO) caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae Kleb. Previous studies have shown that the root/rhizosphere of healthy olive plants is an important reservoir of microorganisms displaying biocontrol activity ag...

This Abstract book include all the abstracts for oral and poster presentations of the Meeting entitled “BioLink 2018: Soil Biodiversity and European Woody Agroecosystems”in Granada (Spain) from 14th to 16th March 2018. This is the final Meeting of the COST Action FP1305 European Project “BioLink, Linking belowground biodiversity and ecosystem funct...

The use of biological control agents (BCA), alone or in combination with other management measures, has gained attention over the past decades, driven by the need to seek for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to confront plant pathogens. The rhizosphere of olive (Olea europaea L.) plants is a source of bacteria with potential as biocontrol...

Verticillium wilt of olive ( VWO ) is one of the most serious biotic constraints for this tree crop. Our knowledge of the genetics of the tolerance/resistance to this disease is very limited. Here we show that tolerance of the cv Frantoio relies on both basal and early pathogen‐induced differential transcriptomic responses. A comparative transcript...

Background and aims The olive root endophyte Pseudomonas fluorescens PICF7 is an effective biocontrol agent of Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO). Colonization of olive roots either by strain PICF7 or by Verticillium dahliae triggers differential systemic transcriptomic responses, many of them related with defense-related genes. The aims were to deve...

Olive cultivation is affected by a wide range of biotic constraints. Verticillium wilt of olive is one of the most devastating diseases affecting this woody crop, inflicting major economic losses in many areas, particularly within the Mediterranean Basin. Little is known about gene-expression changes during plant infection by Verticillium dahliae o...

In olive, several biological processes, including those related to drupe maturation and oil production, are adversely affected by biotic stress. Pesticides are an important, valuable input in modern oliviculture, still central to secure yield and safeguard olive oil quality. However, concerns over the effects of plant protection products on the env...

Growing demographic trends require sustainable technologies to improve quality and yield of future food productions. However, there is uncertainty about plant protection strategies in many agro-ecosystems. Pests, diseases and weeds are overwhelmingly controlled by chemicals which pose health risks and cause other undesirable effects.Therefore, an i...

Growing demographic trends require sustainable technologies to improve quality and yield of future food productions. However, there is uncertainty about plant protection strategies in many agro-ecosystems. Pests, diseases and weeds are overwhelmingly controlled by chemicals which pose health risks and cause other undesirable effects. Therefore, an...

A main goal of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) research has been to expand the nitrogenfixing ability to major cereal crops. In this work, we demonstrate the use of the efficient nitrogen-fixing rhizobacterium Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 X940 as a chassis to engineer the transfer of nitrogen fixed by BNF to maize and wheat under non-gnotobiotic c...

Pseudomonas fluorescens PICF7, an indigenous olive roots inhabitant, displays endophytic lifestyle in this woody crop and exerts biocontrol against the fungal phytopathogen Verticillium dahliae Here we report microscopy evidence that the strain PICF7 is also able to colonize and persist on/in wheat and barley root tissues. Root colonization of both...

Trichoderma harzianum Rifai is a well- known biological control agent (BCA) effective against a wide range of phytopathogens. Since colo- nization and persistence in the target niche is crucial for biocontrol effectiveness we aimed to: (i) shed light on the olive roots colonization process by T. harzianum CECT 2413, (ii) unravel the fate of its bio...

The social demand for novel, sustainable and environment friendly approaches, while ensuring the health and productivity of our crops, is increasingly growing. Research on biological control of tree/woody crop diseases is scarce compared to that conducted on herbaceous, annual plants. In addition to their large biomass, complicated anatomy, longevi...

A hidden microbial world is present in the interior of all plants. Myriads of bacteria and fungi live inside them without causing apparent deleterious effects to their hosts. They are designated as endophytes. Endophytic communities are variable and diverse. Their structure and composition are shaped by a number of (a)biotic factors. Endophytes hav...

This chapter aims to provide an overview of recent efforts devoted to the management of soil-borne pathogens by means of combining organic amendments and biological control agents. This approach constitutes a promising disease control strategy yet insufficiently explored. We first present definitions of fundamental concepts that the reader will fin...