Manuscript Abstract

EXPLORING THE BIOCONTROL POTENTIAL OF HALOTOLERANT RHIZOBACTERIA AGAINST FUSARIUM WILT IN RICE
Paul A Correa, Asia Nosheen, Humaira Yasmin, Rabia Naz, Muhammad Sajjad, Muhammad Nadeem Hassan, Ayesha Zaman

P. A Correa 1, 2 A. Nosheen1, *, H. Yasmin1, R. Naz1, M. Sajjad1, M. N. Hassan1 and A. Zaman3

1Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

2School of Arts and Sciences, Division of Physical and Natural Sciences, University of The Gambia, Faraba Campus, P.O. Box 3530, Serekunda, The Gambia, West Africa

3Virology Department, National Institute of Health (NIH), Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Corresponding Author: asia.nosheen@comsats.edu.pk
Page Number(s): 696-707
Published Online First: January 28, 2026
Publication Date: May 05, 2026
ABSTRACT

Fusarium wilt caused by soil fungus like Fusarium oxysporum poses a significant threat to rice production around the world, including Pakistan and The Gambia. Conventional methods for managing such diseases are not sustainable. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the biocontrol potential of halotolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) against Fusarium oxysporum PF5. Out of 510 rhizobacteria isolates, 24 halotolerant isolates (11 from Pakistan and 13 from The Gambia) were selected to evaluate their potential against the growth of selected fungus. Dual cultures in vitro showed that isolate 6 and 11 from Pakistan and isolate B and G from The Gambia, inhibited the growth of fungi by 70%. These isolates also showed the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) (52 µg/mL) and glucanase (4 µg/mL). In addition, intense production of hydrolytic enzymes protease (70 µg/mL) and chitinase (4 µg/mL) was recorded by isolates 4 and 9 respectively. Scanning electron microscopy graphs evidenced a significant ultrastructural damaged and a severe hyphal breakdown by the bacterial isolates (6, 11 and B, G) in Fusarium co-cultures as compared to the control fungal culture. The GC-MS metabolomics highlighted the presence of key bioactive compounds such as oleic acid, imidazol [1,2-a] pyridine. Therefore, it can be concluded that the selected isolates can be considered as a promising candidate as a biocontrol agent against Fusarium wilt in rice on the basis of strong antifungal activity, hydrolytic enzymes and bioactive metabolites production as well as structural damage to Fusarium hyphae. The future work will focus on controlled pot experiment and then field application for practical implication of the selected isolates.

Keywords: Soil Salinity, Halotolerant PGPR, Biocontrol, Rice, GC-MS, Sustainable agriculture
Open Access: This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).


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