{
  "abstract": "Tobacco root rot is mainly a soil-borne disease caused by fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum, and it reduces both yield and quality. Traditional chemical control is effective but often leaves residues, whereas biological control, although environmentally safe, still suffers from poor colonization of beneficial microbes in the rhizosphere and unstable control efficacy in the field. Plant root exudate metabolites are recognized as crucial mediators that enhance the colonization of beneficial microorganisms. Despite this recognized importance, a deeper understanding of how metabolome-driven colonization of probiotics specifically determines plant resistance against soil-borne diseases is still lacking. Here, we first isolated, screened, and identified a probiotic strain, Bacillus subtilis HJ1-29, with antagonistic activity against the pathogenic fungus Fusarium sp . We then screened the root exudates for prebiotics that improve the colonization of HJ1-29 and identified leucine. We further examined the underlying mechanisms and found that leucine improved the chemotaxis and biofilm formation of HJ1-29, and the combination of HJ1-29 and leucine reduced spore production and altered the mycelial morphology of the fungal pathogen. Finally, pot experiments showed that the leucine-HJ1-29 treatment had the lowest disease index among all treatments, with a control efficacy of 97.8%, and increased the activities of PAL and POD in tobacco leaves. Overall, our results suggest that root-secreted leucine is associated with the recruitment of probiotic B. subtilis HJ1-29 and contributes to the suppression of the pathogen and to the control of Fusarium root rot. This study provides new insights into the use of functional synbiotics as a promising strategy for manipulating plant-microbiome interactions in sustainable agriculture.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Henan Tobacco Company Luohe Branch, Luohe, 462000, the People's Republic of China",
    "School of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, 476000, the People's Republic of China",
    "School of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, 476000, the People's Republic of China; Corresponding author."
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chong Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fangfang Jia"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lingling Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhanying Fu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiale Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ruixin Fu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7zfj35ppdqh6x.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.biocontrol.2026.106166",
  "fulltext_url": "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964426002100",
  "id": "7zfj35ppdqh6x",
  "issns": [
    "1049-9644",
    "1090-2112"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2026.106166",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "QH301-705.5"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "S"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222956467",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7zfj35ppdqh6x.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "0296036f36df4511a35c1520cdde3a2e",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2026.106166"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Root-secreted leucine is associated with the recruitment of",
  "title_text": "Root-secreted leucine is associated with the recruitment of",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:39Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7zfj35ppdqh6x",
  "venue": "Biological Control",
  "versions": []
}