| abstract |
A method of treating a plant to improve plant growth, promote plant health or control a plant disease, in which the method comprises applying a composition comprising cells derived from the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis QST713 deposited such as the NRRL B-50420 accession number that has a mutation in a swrA ortholog, in which the mutation reduces the swarming capacity of bacterial cells compared to isogenic bacterial cells that do not have the mutation, in which said mutation is a deletion at position 26 of SEQ ID NO: 1 as reflected in SEQ ID NO: 3, in which said cells that have a mutation in a swrA ortholog have an improved ability to form a compact biofilm in a root compared to wild-type QST713 cells and in which at least about 70% of bacterial cells are spores, to the plant, to a part of the plant and / or to a locus of the plant. |