• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2013

Phytophthora capsici is one of major limiting factors in production of pepper and other important crops worldwide by causing foliage blight and rot on fruit and root. Increased demand for the replacement of fungicides has led to searching a promising strategy to control the fungal diseases. To meet eco-friendly agriculture practice, we isolated microorganisms and assessed their beneficial effects on plant health and disease control efficacy. A total of 360 bacterial strains were isolated from rhizosphere soil of healthy pepper plants, and categorized to 5 representative isolates based on colony morphology. Among the 5 bacterial strains (GJ-1, GJ-4, GJ-5, GJ-11, GJ-12), three bacterial strains (GJ-1, GJ-11, GJ-12) presented antifungal activity against P. capsici in an fungal inhibition assay. In phosphate solubilization and siderophore production, the strain GJ-1 was more effective than others. The strain GJ-1 was identified as Bacillus sp. using 16S rDNA analysis. Bacillus sp. GJ-1 was also found to be effective in inhibiting other plant pathogenic fungi, including Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium ultimum and Fusarium solani. Therefore, the Bacillus sp. GJ-1 can serve as a biological control agent against fungal plant pathogens.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2012

A bacterial strain antagonistic to some fungal phytopathogens was isolated from the stem of a Persimmon tree in Yeongam, Korea. This bacterium was identified as Bacillus subtilis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and designated as B. subtilis GDYA-1. In in vivo experiment, the fermentation broth exhibited antifungal activities against Magnaporthe oryzae on rice plants, Phytophthora infestans on tomato plants, and Puccinia recondita on wheat plants. We isolated one antifungal compound and its chemical structure was determined by mass and $^1H$-NMR spectral data. The antifungal substance was identified as benzoic acid. It inhibited mycelial growth of M. oryzae, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and P. capsici with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values, ranging from 62.5 to 125 ${\mu}g/ml$. Moreover, the substance effectively suppressed Phytophthora blight of red pepper caused by P. capsici in a pot experiment. To the author's knowledge, this is the first report on the antifungal activity of benzoic acid against phytopathogenic fungi. Benzoic acid and B. subtilis GDYA-1 may contribute to environmental-friendly protect crops from phytopathogenic fungi.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2004

An endophytic bacterial strain EB215 that was isolated from cucumber (Cucumis sativus) roots displayed a potent in vivo antifungal activity against Colletotrichum species. The strain was identified as Burkholderia cepacia based on its physiological and biochemical characteristics, and 16S rDNA gene sequence. Optimal medium and incubation period for the production of antifungal substances by B. cepacia EB215 were nutrient broth (NB) and 3 days, respectively. An antifungal substance was isolated from the NB cultures of B. cepacia EB215 strain by centrifugation, n-hexane partitioning, silica gel column chromatography, preparative TLC, and in vitro bioassay. Its chemical structure was determined to be pyrrolnitrin by mass and NMR spectral analyses. Pyrrolnitrin showed potent disease control efficacy of more than 90% against pepper anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes), cucumber anthracnose (Colletotrichum orbiculare), rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea) and rice sheath blight (Corticium sasaki) even at a low concentration of $11.1\;{\mu}g/ml$. In addition, it effectively controlled the development of tomato gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) and wheat leaf rust (Puccinia recondita) at concentrations over $33.3\;{\mu}g/ml$. However, it had no antifungal activity against Phytophthora infestans on tomato plants. Further studies on the development of microbial fungicide using B. cepacia EB215 are in progress.