Genomic and Phenotypic Insights into the Potential of YB-15 Isolated from Rhizosphere to Biocontrol against Crown Rot and Promote Growth of Wheat.

crown rot caused by is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat worldwide causing major yield and economic losses. In this study, strain YB-15 was isolated from soil of wheat rhizosphere and classified as by average nucleotide identity analysis. It significantly reduced crown rot with a control efficacy of 81.50% and significantly improved the growth of wheat seedlings by increasing root and shoot fresh weight by 11.4% and 4.2%, respectively. Reduced crown rot may have been due to direct antagonism by the production of β-1, 3-glucanase, amylase, protease and cellulase, or by the ability of YB-15 to induce defense-related enzyme activities of wheat seedlings, both alone and in seedlings infected with . Improved plant growth may be related to the ability of YB-15 to secrete indole acetic acid and siderophores, as well as to solubilize phosphorus. In addition, the genome of strain YB-15 was determined, resulting in a complete assembled circular genome of 4,233,040 bp with GC content of 43.52% consisting of 4207 protein-encoding genes. Sequencing the YB-15 genome further revealed genes for encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes, biosynthesis of various secondary metabolites, nutrient acquisition, phytohormone production, chemotaxis and motility, which could explain the potential of strain YB-15 to be plant growth-promoting bacteria and biological control agent. YB-15 appears to be a promising biocontrol agent against crown rot as well as for wheat growth promotion.