Bioactive potential of Aspergillus sp. isolated from Uppanar estuarine sediment samples against plant pathogens

Abstract

In the present study, fungal strains were isolated from the sediment samples collected from the Uppanar estuary, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu and evaluated their potential for antifungal activity against a panel of plant fungal pathogens. Isolates were screened qualitatively for their antifungal activity and from the results, the HK-05 strain was selected for further study. The potential strain was identified as Aspergillus sp. using morphological observation under the microscope. Antimicrobial activity screening showed that the isolate Aspergillus sp. HK-05 was inhibitory to the different plant fungal pathogens tested, such as Sclerotium rolfsii (21 mm), Macrophomina phaseolina (28 mm), Phytophthora infestans (24 mm), Fusarium oxysporum (18 mm) and Colletotrichum musae (25 mm). The results suggested that Aspergillus sp. could combat diseases caused by plant pathogenic fungal strains. Furthermore, an in-depth study is underway on bio-guided extraction and identification of active molecules, which would identify individual components and lead to the isolation of the active molecule in future.