Antagonistic and Plant Growth Promoting Activity of Bacillus species Isolated from Brackish Environment

Bacteria of the Bacillus sp. are well known to possess antagonistic activity against numerous plant pathogens. In the present study, 11 Bacillus sp. were isolated from the brackish environment and assayed for antagonistic activity under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Among the 11 isolates tested, 9 isolates effectively inhibited the growth of various plant pathogens, namely Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora citropthora, Phytophthora citricola, Phytophthora sojae, Colletotricum coccodes, Colletotricum gloeosporioides, Colletotricum acutatum, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, Fusarium graminearum, Pyricularia sp. and Monilina sp. The effective isolates were further screened for Phytophthora blight suppression in Capsicum annuum L. under green house conditions. The isolate SB10 exhibited the maximum (72.2%) reduction in disease severity. The antifungal compounds from the isolate were isolated and characterized. The isolated compounds exhibited high thermo stability ($100^{\circ}C$ for 30 min). Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight investigation of the antifungal compounds revealed three lipopeptide complexes, the surfactins, the iturins, and the fengycins.