Applying Wheat-Associated Bacteria's producing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) antagonistic to plant pathogenic fungi

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Toxicology, Central Laboratories For Armed Forces and Blood Bank (AFLMR). Egypt.

2 Agricultural Microbiology Department National Research Center (NRC), Cairo, Egypt

3 Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt.

4 Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

Wheat, the first crop cultivated on earth, is a crucial staple food that must be grown in larger quantities to meet the needs of the expanding global population. Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by destructive plant pathogenic fungi, harms wheat and other cereal crops. The degradation of fresh produce by fungi results in significant global economic losses. Despite the boost in agricultural productivity from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, there are notable environmental consequences. Researchers stress the importance of microbial VOCs in medicinal and agricultural biotechnology. In sustainable agriculture, microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) are Rpotential eco-friendly substitutes for conventional pesticides. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of volatile organic compounds, produced by bacteria isolated from Egyptian wheat plants, in inhibiting the growth of Fusarium graminearum. Two hundred bacterial isolates collected from various parts of wheat plants and soil samples were evaluated for their ability to produce volatile organic compounds with antifungal properties in vitro. The findings revealed that the VOCs inhibited the growth of Fusarium graminearum by 50.1 ± 2.1% after ten days, indicating a significant inhibitory effect on fungal mycelial growth. In this work, bioactive secondary metabolites were chemically identified using a GC-MS spectrometer for VOCs released by three tested antifungal bacterial isolates: Bacillus paramycoides, Achromobacter denitrificans and Alcaligenes faecalis. Bacillus paramycoids has been identified as the producer of 9 bioactive substances, which have known antibacterial and some anticancer properties, along with previous recognition for their effectiveness as antifungal agents. Achromobacter dentrificans also produces 3 volatile organic compounds with documented antifungal capabilities. The research emphasizes the antifungal properties of these volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and highlights the discovery of 3 VOCs produced by the Alcaligenes faecalis strain, all showing antifungal activity in prior studies. This underscores the potential of these bioactive substances and VOCs as effective antifungal agents. According to these findings, these substances can be employed as antagonists to develop a cutting-edge method of preventing fungal infections.

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Volume 67, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
In Loving Memory of Late Professor Doctor ””Mohamed Refaat Hussein Mahran””
December 2024
Pages 1103-1115
  • Receive Date: 01 October 2024
  • Revise Date: 21 October 2024
  • Accept Date: 17 November 2024