A total of 131 endophytic actinomycete strains were successfully isolated from surface-sterilized banana roots. These isolates belonged to Streptomyces (n=99), Streptoverticillium (n=28), and Streptosporangium (n=2) spp. The remaining 2 isolates were not identified. About 18.3% of the isolates inhibited the growth of pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense on banana tissue extract medium. The most frequently isolated Streptomyces sp. strain S96 was similar to Streptomyces griseorubiginosus. About 37.5% of the S. griseorubiginosus strains were antagonistic to F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense. The antagonism of strain S96 was lost when FeCl(3) was introduced into the inhibition zone. In vivo biocontrol assays showed that the disease severity index (DSI) was significantly (P=0.05) reduced and mean fresh weight increased (P=0.001) in plantlets treated with strain S96 compared to those grown in the absence of the biocontrol strain. These findings indicate the potential of developing siderophore-producing Streptomyces endophytes for the biological control of fusarium wilt disease of banana.
To elucidate fungal diversity in methane hydrate-bearing deep-sea marine sediments in the South China Sea, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes from five different sediment DNA samples were amplified and phylogenetically analyzed. Total five ITS libraries were constructed and 413 clones selected randomly were grouped into 24 restriction patterns by Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA). ITS sequences of 44 representative clones were determined and compared with the GenBank database using gapped-BLAST. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the ITS sequences (71-97% similarity) were similar to those of Phoma, Lodderomyces, Malassezia, Cryptococcus, Cylindrocarpon, Hortaea, Pichia, Aspergillus and Candida. The remaining sequences were not associated to any known fungi or fungal sequences in the public database. The results suggested that methane hydrate-bearing deep-sea marine sediments harbor diverse fungi. This is the first report on fungal communities from methane hydrate-bearing deep-sea marine sediments in South China Sea.
The automated docking program DOCK 5.3.0 was applied to screening for quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) of Peudomonus aeruginosa from a database containing 51 active components of Traditional Chinese Medicines with antibacterial activity. Five potential QSIs were revealed by the computer-based virtual screening. The compounds 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 inhibit biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa at a concentration of 200 microM. Compound 4 (baicalein) does not inhibit the growth of P. aeruginosa; however, it significantly inhibits biofilm formation of the bacteria at a lower concentration of 20 microM and promoted proteolysis of the signal receptor TraR protein in Escherichia coli at 4-40 mM. Baicalein and ampicillin showed synergistic activity against P. aeruginosa. These results suggested that baicalein can interfere with quorum sensing system of P. aeruginosa and will be developed as antibacterial agent with novel target.
Aims: To isolate endophytic Streptomyces strains from tomato and examine their antimicrobial activity. Methods: Endophytic Streptomyces strains were isolated using surface-sterilization methods and identified by morphological characteristics. Antimicrobial activities were measured by the agar plate sensitivity method. Antifungal activity in vivo was measured by seedling mortality in infested soils. Results: Twenty-one per cent of endophytic streptomycete isolates produced antibacterial metabolites and 41% produced antifungal metabolites in S medium. Sixty-five per cent of the most frequently isolated strains inhibited the growth of Rhizoctonia solani by the antibiosis assay but only 32% produced metabolites active against R. solani in S medium. Growth promotion and enhanced disease resistance of seedlings inoculated with Streptomyces sp. strain S30 were observed in tomato but not in cucumber seedlings. Conclusions: Endophytic Streptomyces spp. strains were successfully isolated using stringent methods and strain S30 promoted growth and enhanced resistance to R. solani in tomato seedlings. Significance and Impact of the Study: Endophytic streptomycetes showing antifungal activity in vitro and in vivo may indicate the potential for their use as biocontrol agents particularly of R. solani disease of tomato seedlings.
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