• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: The resistance of rice bakanae disease pathogens against the fungicide prochloraz has been reported. Understanding the resistance mechanisms is an important for better control of the pathogens. In the present study, we investigated the resistance mechanisms of Fusarium fujikuroi CF337 (CF337) against prochloraz. METHODS AND RESULTS: Morphological changes in the cell wall of CF337 grown in potato dextrose broth (PDB) with or without prochloraz was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Growth inhibition of CF337 was examined in PDB containing prochloraz or an ABC transporter inhibitor or both of them. Cell wall thickness of CF337 grown in PDB with prochloraz was significantly increased from $80.73{\pm}1.99nm$ to $193.11{\pm}7.07nm$. Significant inhibition in the growth of CF337 was observed in the presence of both prochloraz and the inhibitor, but no growth inhibition was observed in the presence of the inhibitor or prochloraz. Sequence analysis of ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) gene of CF337 showed 70 to 80% similarities to the genes of the pathogens resistant to other fungicides. CONCLUSION: Efflux transporter system and changes in cell wall thickness were suggested as resistance mechanisms of CF337 against prochloraz.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2009

This study was conducted to identify the Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose disease of strawberry in Balgladesh and to evaluate in vitro activity of commercial fungicides it. Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, all 22 isolates were identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. They developed white or glittery colonies with grey to dark grey reverse colony colors and they produced cylindrical conidia. The efficacy of five commercial fungicides, Bavistin DF, Dithane M-45, Sulcox 50 WP, Corzim 50 WP and Rovral 50 WP, were tested against the fungus. Bavistin inhibited radial growth completely and was followed in efficacy by Dithane M-45. In Bavistin DF treated media, the fungus did not produce conidia. The percent inhibition of radial growth of the fungus was increased with the increasing concentrations of fungicide.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 1994.06a
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• pp.50-61
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• 1994

Biological control of important fungal diseases such as Phytophthora blight of red pepper, gary mold rot of vegetables, and powdery mildew of many crops was attempted using an antagonistic bacterium, Bacillus sp. AC-1 in greenhouses and fields. The antagonistic bacterium isolated from the rhizosphere soils of healthy red pepper plant was very effective in the inhibition of mycelial growth of plant pathogenic fungi in vitro including Phytophthora capsici, Rhizoctonia solani, Pyricularia oryzae, Botrytis cinerea, Valsa mali, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium ultimum, Alternari mali, Helminthosporium oryzae, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Culture filtrate of antagonistic Bacillus sp. AC-1 applied to pot soils infested with Phytophthora capsici suppressed the disease occurrence better than metalaxyl application did until 37 days after treatment in greenhouse tests. Treatments of the bacterial suspension on red pepper plants also reduced the incidence of Phytophthora blight in greenhouse tests. In farmers' commercial production fields, however, the controlling efficacy of the antagonistic bacteria was variable depending on field locations. Gray mold rot of chinese chives and lettuce caused by Botrytis cinerea was also controlled effectively in field tests by the application of Bacillus sp. AC-1 with control values of 79.7% and 72.8%, respectively. Spraying of the bacterial suspension inhibited development of powdery mildew of many crops such as cucumber, tobacco, melon, and rose effectively in greenhouse and field tests. The control efficacy of the bacterial suspension was almost same as that of Fenarimol used as a chemical standard. Further experiments for developing a commercial product from the antagonistic bacteria and for elucidating antagonistic mechanism against plant pathogenic fungi are in progress.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.286-289
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• 2000

Mechanol extracts of three cold-tolerant eucalyptus trees-Eucalyptus darlympleana, E. gunnii and E. unigera were screened for antimicrobial activity against twenty two phyto-pathogenic fungi and six food-borne bacterial pathogens. E. unigera showed the antagonistic activity against all the tested pathogens. Among the tested fungal pathogens, Pythium species were highly sensitive to the leaf extracts. Especially, P. vanterpoolii, a causal agent of leaf blight in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris), was completely inhibited by the extracts. The eucalyptus extracts were also effective in inhibiting the fungal growth of Botrytis cinerea and Phomopsis sp. isolated from the lesions of kiwifruit soft rot during post-harvest storage. Escherichia coli O-157 was less sensitive to the inhibition than the other bacterial pathogens tested. It was likely that Gram positive bacteria-Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus mutans were more sensitive to the eucalyptus extracts than Gram negative bacteria-Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our findings suggest that the cold-tolerant eucalyptus species have antimicrobial properties that can serve the development of novel fungitoxic agents or food preservatives.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1578-1583
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• 2008

Rhizobacteria are used as inoculants to enhance crop yield and for biological control of fungal pathogens. Fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from the rhizosphere of groundnut showed suppression of the phytopathogen Macrophomina phaseolina that causes charcoal rot of groundnut, an economically important agroproduct. Two strains of fluorescent pseudomonads, designated as PS1 and PS2, were selected as a result of in vitro antifungal activity. After 5 days of incubation at $28{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, both PS1 and PS2 caused clear inhibition zones in dual cultures, restricting the growth of M. phaseolina by 71 % and 74%, respectively. Both the strains were capable of producing siderophores, indole acetic acid, and hydrocyanic acid, and causing phosphate solubilization under normal growth conditions. These strains, when used as inoculants in groundnut, enhanced germination up to 15% and 30% with subsequent increase in grain yield by 66% and 77%, respectively. Conversely, when the pathogen alone was tested 57% decrease in yield was recorded. Thus the studies revealed the potential of the two pseudomonads not only as biocontrol agents against M. phaseolina, but also as a good growth promoter for groundnut.

• Mycobiology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.506-511
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• 2019

We investigated the antifungal activities of an endophytic fungus identified as Acaromyces ingoldii, found on a loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) pine bolt in Louisiana during routine laboratory microbial isolations. The specific objectives were to determine the inhibitory properties of A. ingoldii secondary metabolites (crude extract) on the mycelial growth of a brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum and a white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor, and to determine the effective concentration of A. ingoldii crude preparation against the two decay fungi in vitro. Results show the crude preparation of A. ingoldii from liquid culture possesses significant mycelial growth inhibitory properties that are concentration dependent against the brownrot and white-rot fungi evaluated. An increase in the concentration of A. ingoldii secondary metabolites significantly decreased the mycelial growth of both wood decay fungi. G. trabeum was more sensitive to the inhibitory effect of the secondary metabolites than T. versicolor. Identification of specific A. ingoldii secondary metabolites, and analysis of their efficacy/specificity warrants further study. Findings from this work may provide the first indication of useful roles for Acaromyces species in a forest environment, and perhaps a future potential in the development of biocontrol-based wood preservation systems.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.326-329
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• 2020

Valuable natural compounds produced by a variety of microorganisms can be used as lead molecules for development of new agrochemicals. Furthermore, high-throughput in vitro screening systems with specific modes of action can increase the probability of discovery of new fungicides. In the current study, a rapid assay tested with various microbes was developed to determine the degree of respiratory inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in two different liquid media, YG (containing a fermentable carbon source) and NFYG (containing a non-fermentable carbon source). Based on this system, we screened 100 fungal isolates that were classified into basidiomycetes, to find microbial secondary metabolites that act as respiratory inhibitors. Consequently, of the 100 fungal species tested, the culture broth of an IUM04881 isolate inhibited growth of S. cerevisiae in NFYG medium, but not in YG medium. The result is comparable to that from treatment with kresoxim-methyl used as a control, suggesting that the culture broth of IUM04881 isolate might contain active compounds showing the inhibition activity for respiratory chain. Based on the assay developed in this study and spectroscopic analysis, we isolated and identified an antifungal compound (-)-oudemansin A from culture broth of IUM04881 that is identified as Oudemansiella venosolamellata. This is the first report that (-)-oudemansin A is identified from O. venosolamellata in Korea. Taken together, the development of this assay will accelerate efforts to find and identify natural respiratory inhibitors from various microbes.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.191-210
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• 2021

To compare the antifungal effect of two nanomaterials (NMs), nanoparticles of zinc oxide were synthesized by a chemical route and zinc oxide-based nanobiohybrids were obtained using green synthesis in an extract of garlic (Allium sativum). The techniques of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopies and Scanning (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopies (TEM) were used to determine the characteristics of the nanomaterials synthesized. The results showed that the samples obtained were of nanometric size (< 100 nm). To compare their antifungal capacity, their effect on Cercospora sp. was evaluated. Test results showed that both nanomaterials had an antifungal capacity. The nanobiohybrids (green route) gave an inhibition of fungal growth of ~72.4% while with the ZnO-NPs (chemical route), inhibition was ~87.1%. Microstructural studies using High Resolution Optical Microscopy (HROM) and ultra-structural analysis using TEM carried out on the treated strains demonstrated the effect of the nanofungicides on the vegetative and reproductive structures, as well as on their cell wall. To account for the antifungal effect presented by ZnO-NPs and ZnO nanobiohybrids on the fungi tested, effects reported in the literature related to the action of nanomaterials on biological entities were considered. Specifically, we discuss the electrical interaction of the ZnO-NPs with the cell membrane and the biomolecules (proteins) present in the fungi, taking into account the n-type nature of the ZnO semiconductor and the electrical behavior of the fungal cell membrane and that of the proteins that make up the protein crown.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.133-147
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• 2020

Hexanal, a C-6 aldehyde has been implicated to have antimicrobial properties. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the antifungal activities of hexanal vapor against major postharvest pathogens of banana viz., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The pathogens were cultured in vitro and exposed to hexanal vapor at 600, 800, 1,000 and 1,200 ppm. Mycelial growth of both fungal pathogens were inhibited completely at 800 ppm and the incidence of anthracnose and stem-end rot diseases reduced by 75.2% and 80.2%, respectively. The activities of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and glucanase had transiently increased in hexanal vapor treated banana by 5 to 7 days and declined thereafter. Postharvest treatment of banana with hexanal vapor resulted in phospholipase D inhibition and also resulted in cell wall thickening of the treated fruit, which impeded the penetration of the pathogenic spores. This was further confirmed by scanning electron micrographs. The defense-related protein intermediaries had increased in hexanal vapor treated banana fruit, which suggests induced resistance against C. gloeosporioides and L. theobromae, via., the phenylpropanoid pathway which plays a significant role in hindering the pathogen quiescence. Delayed ripening due to inhibition of phospholipase D enzyme, inhibition of mycelial growth and induced systemic resistance by defense enzymes collectively contributed to the postharvest disease reduction and extended shelf life of fruit.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.125-129
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• 2000

A rapid and efficient assay to determine melanin biosynthesis inhibition of Magnaporthe grisea, a causal agent of the rice blast, by chemicals was developed. Wells in 24-well plates were loaded with spore suspension of the fungus and three known melanin biosynthesis inhibitors of KC10017, tricyclazole, and carpropamid. Subsequent color changes of mycelia and culture media in the wells were observed 7 days after incubation. The wells treated with KC10017 (an inhibitor of polyketide synthesis step and/or pentaketide cyclization step) became colorless, whereas tricyclazole (an inhibitor of 1, 3, 8-trihydroxynaphthalene reductase) or carpropamid (an inhibitor of scytalone dehydratase)-treated wells exhibited red color. They did not show any inhibitory effect on fungal growth. The inhibition of reaction steps prior to 1, 3, 6, 8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene formation was easily determined by colorless medium and mycelia. However, it was impossible to distinguish between inhibition of reduction steps and inhibition of dehydration steps by colors of the cultures. It was accomplished through HPLC analysis of the melanin biosynthesis-involving pentaketide metabolites accumulated by the inhibitors. Through screening of a number of synthetic chemicals using the in vitro assay, we could find a novel chemical group of melanin biosynthesis inhibitor.