• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.815-822
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• 2021

Indigenous fungus-feeding nematodes may adversely affect the growth and activity of introduced biocontrol fungi. Alginate pellets of the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum ThzID1-M3 and sclerotia of the fungal plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were added to nonsterile soil at a soil water potential of -50 or -1,000 kPa. The biomass of ThzID1-M3, nematode populations, and extent of colonization of sclerotia by ThzID1-M3 were monitored over time. The presence of ThzID1-M3 increased the nematode population under both moisture regimes (p < 0.05), and fungivores comprised 69-75% of the nematode population. By day 5, the biomass of ThzID1-M3b and its colonization of sclerotia increased and were strongly correlated (R² = 0.98), followed by a rapid reduction, under both regimes. At -50 kPa (the wetter of the two environments), fungal biomass and colonization by ThzID1-M3 were less, in the period from 5 to 20 days, while fungivores were more abundant. These results indicate that ThzID1-M3 stimulated the population growth of fungivorous nematodes, which in turn, reduced the biocontrol ability of the fungus to mycoparasitize sclerotia. However, colonization incidence reached 100% by day 5 and remained so for the experimental period under both regimes, although hyphal fragments disappeared by day 20. Our results suggest that indigenous fungivores are an important constraint for the biocontrol activity of introduced fungi, and sclerotia can provide spatial refuge for biocontrol fungi from the feeding activity of fungivorous nematodes.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.475-486
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• 2022

The antifungal activity of thymol against Aspergillus awamori F23 and Botrytis aclada F15 in onions was examined through direct treatment with amended media and gaseous treatment with I-plates (plastic plates containing central partitions). The protective and curative control efficacy of thymol was examined 24 h before and after the inoculation of onion bulbs with the fungal isolates. Mycelial growth, sporulation, and spore germination of the isolates were inhibited on potato dextrose agar amended with various concentrations of thymol or acetic acid (positive control). Overall, thymol produced a stronger inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth and development of the isolates than acetic acid. Following gaseous treatment in I-plates, mycelial growth, sporulation, and spore germination of the isolates were inhibited at higher concentrations of thymol or acetic acid; however, acetic acid showed a little effect on the sporulation and spore germination of the isolates. Following the treatment of onion bulbs with 1000 mg L^-1 of thymol 24 h before and after fungal inoculation, lesion diameter was greatly reduced compared with that following treatment with 0.5% ethanol (solvent control). Onion bulbs sprayed with thymol 24 h before fungal inoculation generally showed reduced lesion diameters by isolate F23 but not in isolate F15 compared with those sprayed 24 h after fungal inoculation. Collectively, thymol effectively inhibited the growth and development of A. awamori and B. aclada on amended media and in I-plates. In addition, spraying or fumigation of thymol is more desirable for effectively controlling these postharvest fungal pathogens during long-term storage conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.2075-2088
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• 2017

Salmonella is one of the principal causes of foodborne outbreaks. As traditional control methods have shown less efficacy against emerging Salmonella serotypes or antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella, new approaches have been attempted. The use of lytic phages for the biocontrol of Salmonella in the food industry has become an attractive method owing to the many advantages offered by the use of phages as biocontrol agents. Phages are natural alternatives to traditional antimicrobial agents; they have proven effective in the control of bacterial pathogens in the food industry, which has led to the development of different phage products. The treatment with specific phages in the food industry can prevent the decay of products and the spread of bacterial diseases, and ultimately promotes safe environments for animal and plant food production, processing, and handling. After an extensive investigation of the current literature, this review focuses predominantly on the efficacy of phages for the successful control of Salmonella spp. in foods. This review also addresses the current knowledge on the pathogenic characteristics of Salmonella, the prevalence of emerging Salmonella outbreaks, the isolation and characterization of Salmonella-specific phages, the effectiveness of Salmonella-specific phages as biocontrol agents, and the prospective use of Salmonella-specific phages in the food industry.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.390-395
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• 2011

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum has become a serious problem world-wide and relies heavily on chemical fungicides. We selected Pseudomonas sp. NJ134 to develop an effective biocontrol strategy. This strain shows strong antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum. Biochemical analyses of ethyl-acetate extracts of NJ134 culture filtrates showed that 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) was the major compound inhibiting in vitro growth of F. oxysporum. DAPG production was greatly enhanced in the NJ134 strain by adding mannitol to the growth media, and in vitro antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum increased. Bioformulations developed from growth of NJ134 in sterile bean media with mannitol as the carbon source under plastic bags resulted in effective biocontrol efficacy against Fusarium wilt. The efficacy of the bioformulated product depended on the carbon source and dose. Mannitol amendment in the bean-based formulation showed strong effective biocontrol against tomato Fusarium wilt through increased DAPG levels and a higher cell density compared to that in a glucose-amended formulation. These results suggest that this bioformulated product could be a new effective biocontrol system to control Fusarium wilt in the field.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1946-1954
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize a lytic Yersinia enterocolitica-specific phage (KFS-YE) as a biocontrol agent. KFS-YE was isolated and purified with the final concentration of ($11.72{\pm}0.03$) log PFU/ml from poultry. As observed by transmission electron microscopy, KFS-YE consisted of an icosahedral head and a contractile tail, and was classified in the Myoviridae family. KFS-YE showed excellent narrow specificity against Y. enterocolitica only. Its lytic activity was stable at wide ranges of pH (4-11) and temperature ($4-50^{\circ}C$). The latent period and burst size of KFS-YE were determined to be 45 min and 38 PFU/cell, respectively. KFS-YE showed relatively robust storage stability at -20, 4, and $22^{\circ}C$ for 40 weeks. KFS-YE demonstrated a bactericidal effect in vitro against Y. enterocolitica and provided excellent efficiency with a multiplicity of infection as low as 0.01. This study demonstrated the excellent specificity, stability, and efficacy of KFS-YE as a novel biocontrol agent. KFS-YE may be employed as a practical and promising biocontrol agent against Y. enterocolitica in food.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.213-219
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• 2017

In our previous study, three bacterial strains, Bacillus megaterium KU143, Microbacterium testaceum KU313, and Pseudomonas protegens AS15, were selected as effective biocontrol agents against Aspergillus flavus on stored rice grains. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of the volatiles produced by the strains on A. flavus growth and aflatoxin production on stored rice grains. The three strains significantly reduced mycelial growth of A. flavus in dual-culture assays compared with the negative control strain, Sphingomonas aquatilis KU408, and an untreated control. Of these tested strains, volatiles produced by B. megaterium KU143 and P. protegens AS15 markedly inhibited mycelial growth, sporulation, and conidial germination of A. flavus on agar medium and suppressed the fungal populations in rice grains. Moreover, volatiles produced by these two strains significantly reduced aflatoxin production in the rice grains by A. flavus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the suppression of A. flavus aflatoxin production in rice grains using B. megaterium and P. protegens volatiles.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.223-234
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• 1999

Antibiotic activity of selected biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum ABGS-95 showed 59% to P. graminicola, 65% to P. aphanidermatum and 57% to Rhizoctonia solani compare to non-treated control. ABGC-95 showed resistant to major agrochemicals such as metalaxyl+mancozeb, etridiazole, propamocarb, toclofos methly, terbuconazole, pencycuron and flutolanil. The biocontrol agent T. harzianum ABGC-95 grew vigorously in low nutrient media and water agar. And sand mixture with wheat bran or mowing debris of zoysia grass also provided good growth of the organism. Application of sand mixture of Trichoderma spp. into aeration cores in golf showed most effective biocontrol of pythium blight. Top dressing application of T. harzianum ABGC-95 reached 83% control efficient while spray application of same biocontrol agent showed only 69% control. The biocontrol agent ABGC-95 successfully suppressed the population density of Pythium spp. in soil. The population density of total Pythium spp. in ABGC-95 treated soil was sustained almost same population at beginning(early May) up to end of August, while the population in untreated control plot was increased 5 times that of beginning and even 10 times in pathogen accumulated soil.

• Mycobiology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.440-447
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• 2018

Dual biocontrol of both insects and plant pathogens has been reported for certain fungal entomopathogens, including Beauveria bassiana and Lecanicillum spp. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the dual biocontrol potential of two fungal isolates identified by morphological and phylogenetic analyses as Isaria javanica. Both these isolates caused mortality in the greater wax moth, and hence can be considered entomopathogens. Spores of the isolates were also pathogenic to nymphs of the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), with an $LC_{50}$ value of $10^7spores/mL$ 4 days after inoculation and an $LT_{50}$ of 4.2 days with a dose of $10^8spores/mL$. In vitro antifungal assays also demonstrated a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of two fungi that are pathogenic to peppers, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Phytophthora capsici. These results indicate that I. javanica isolates could be used as novel biocontrol agents for the simultaneous control of aphids and fungal diseases, such as anthracnose and Phytophthora blight, in an integrated pest management framework for red pepper.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.221-224
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• 2002

In vitro and in vivo activities of a biocontrol agent, Serratia plymuthica strain A2l-4, was evaluated for the control of Phytophthora blight of pepper, Strain A2l-4 inhibited mycelial growth, germination of zoosporangia and cystospores, and formation of zoospore and zoosporangia of Phytophthora capsici in vitro. In the pot experiment, incidence of Phytophthora blight of pepper in non-treated control was 100% at 14 days after inoculation, while no disease was observed in the plot treated with S. plymuthica A2l-4. In the greenhouse test, infection rate of pepper in the non-treated plots was 74.5%, while it was only 12.6％ in the plots treated with A2l-4. Results indicate that S. plymuthica A2l-4 is a potential biocontrol agent for Phytophthora blight of pepper.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.398-403
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• 2007

The effectiveness of phage biocontrol depends on the activity of bacteriophage in a given environment. In order to investigate the infectivity and the stability of bacteriophages in representative environments, three virulent phages, Listeria phage A511, Salmonella phage Felix O1, and Escherichia coli phage T7, were subjected to different temperatures, pHs and salt concentrations (NaCl). Phage infectivity was also determined in the presence of divalent cations ($Mg^{2+}$ or $Ca^{2+}$). As a result, three phages exhibited a wide range of survival rates under various environments. Phage infectivity was directly correlated with bacterial growth under the applied conditions. One exception was Felix O1 that did not kill Salmonella grown in low pH (4.5). The failure was attributed to defective adsorption of Felix O1. This finding is significant as it provides an explanation for the inefficient phage biocontrol. Therefore, such information is crucial to improve phage biocontrol of pathogens.