Abstract
This work aims to explore the capacity of a Bacillus methylotrophicus (later heterotypic synonym of Bacillus velezensis) strain named XT1 CECT 8661 against the necrotrophic plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea and to identify the compounds responsible for its activity. Q_TOF electrospray mass spectrometry analysis allows us to detect several lipopeptides – surfactin, bacillomycin, and fengycin – in XT1 cultures. In vitro antibiosis studies demonstrated the efficiency of the lipopeptide fraction for the inhibition of fungal growth. In fact, microscopy studies (SEM/TEM) revealed, an alteration of the morphology of the phytopathogen in interaction with lipopeptides, with resistance structures appearing in the early stages of growth of the fungus. Our studies, carried out with tomatoes, grapes, and strawberries have demonstrated the efficiency of Bacillus XT1 CECT 8661 lipopeptides against B. cinerea infection and it capability to trigger the antioxidant activity in fruit. Overall, the results of this study highlight the potential of lipopeptides of this strain as an effective biological control agent against the colonisation of B. cinerea.
Highlights
Botrytis cinerea [teleomorph: Botryotinia fuckeliana Whetzel] is a necrotrophic fungi known to be the cause of grey mould
Antifungal Activity of the Lipopeptides Produced by Bacillus XT1
One of the major factors related with the antifungal activity of members of the genus Bacillus is due to the production of lipopeptides synthesised by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) such as iturin, fengycin, and surfactin (Romero et al, 2007; Ongena and Jacques, 2008; Pramudito et al, 2018)
Summary
Botrytis cinerea [teleomorph: Botryotinia fuckeliana (de Bary) Whetzel] is a necrotrophic fungi known to be the cause of grey mould. These fungi can infect more than 200 plant species, including horticulturally important crops (Gao et al, 2018). The production of lytic enzymes along with other phytotoxic metabolites induces cell death in plant tissues, mainly affecting those in a state of senescence or with wounds on their surface (Finiti et al, 2014; Gonzalez-Fernandez et al, 2015; Yu et al, 2015; Yahaya et al, 2016). The aforementioned ubiquity, together with the capacity to produce resistant structures and the high mutation rate of B. cinerea, makes the fight against this fungus a challenging task (Gonzalez-Fernandez et al, 2015; Haidar et al, 2016)
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