Abstract
A biofungicide is a natural product that can be derived from various sources such as, among others, microorganisms, higher plants, animal products, phytochemicals, semiochemicals, and antagonist microorganisms. One of the most important approaches for the production of biofungicides is the combination of biocontrol agents. This study showed the inhibition growth of Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani treated with cell-free extracts of P. fluorescens. Using thin-layer chromatography and plate assays it was also demonstrated that the cell-free extracts of P. fluorescens contained siderophores and derivates of 4-diacetylphloroglucinol and phenazine. Moreover, the combination of cell-free extracts of P. fluorescens and chitosan [50–1.5% (v/v)] had a synergistic effect since they notably inhibited the mycelial growth of A. altenata and F. solani. Various morphological alterations to the mycelia and conidia of the treated fungi as a result of this combination were also observed. The present study could be a starting point to control other fungal phytopathogens using different cell-free extracts and chitosan as biocontrol agents.
Highlights
Phytopathogens are microorganisms that cause plant diseases and metabolic disorders [1] and are the main cause of crop diseases throughout the world
The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of cell-free extracts of P. fluorescens and chitosan alone and combined on the in vitro development of Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani, to identify the possible secondary metabolites present in the cell-free extracts of P. fluorescens, and to observe the effect of the mixture of P. fluorescens and chitosan in the fungal morphology of both phytopathogens
The bacterium P. fluorescens reached the exponential phase at 42 h, where the specific growth rate was μ = 0.1989 h−1, while the stationary phase was at 72 h (Figure 1)
Summary
Phytopathogens are microorganisms that cause plant diseases and metabolic disorders [1] and are the main cause of crop diseases throughout the world. More than 19,000 varieties of phytopathogens have contributed to complete crop devastations and have caused losses worth millions of dollars [2,3]. It has been noted that approximately 8000 fungal species have caused nearly 100,000 diseases in plants [4]. The most harmful and significant phytopathogen species are found primarily in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota [5]. The fungal genera that play an important role in agriculture are Botrytis, Fusarium, Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Magnaporthe, and Cladosporium [6,7]. The primary approach to controlling them has been the use of synthetic fungicides, not all fungal diseases can be adequately controlled in this way
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