Agar composition affects in vitro screening of biocontrol activity of antagonistic microorganisms.

Abstract Agar-based screening assays are the method of choice when evaluating antagonistic potential of bacterial biocontrol-candidates against pathogens. We showed that when using the same medium, but different agar compositions, the activity of a bacterial antagonist against Agrobacterium was strongly affected. Consequently, results from in vitro screenings should be interpreted cautiously.