Antifungal activity of the bioactive substance from Bacillus atrophaeus strain HAB-5 and its toxicity assessment on Danio rerio

Abstract

The prevalence of pathogen inhibitors bacteria has motivate the study for antimicrobial compounds. Bioactive fungicide have always received considerable attention. A bacterial isolated strain HAB-5 showed antifungal activity against plant fungi. Based on morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16SrDNA sequence analysis, the strain was identified to be a Bacillus atrophaeus. This strain possessed a broad spectrum antifungal activity against various plant pathogenic fungi. Extraction of antifungal substance was performed and the crude extract had potent antifungal ability and showed great potential for swelling and inhibiting spore germination. This antifungal displayed heat stability and active in a wide pH range 5.0–10.0. Moreover no reduction was found in its activity after enzyme treatment. The toxicity test was evaluated in Danio rerio. The acute toxicity test indicated that the 24, 48, 72, 96h LC50 values of UMTLS to the zebrafish were 14.4, 13.8, 13.4, and 12.9%, respectively. Based on the results obtained in this study, antifungal substance was not toxic to zebra. Analyses of disease suppression showed that HAB-5 was effective to reduce the incidence of anthracnose symptoms on mango fruits, also prevent disease infection and protect tobacco seedling from Phytophtora nicotianae. The bioactive substance from Bacillus atrophaeus HAB-5 could be a candidate in the generation of new antifungal agents in crop.