The Extracellular Lipopeptides and Volatile Organic Compounds of Bacillus subtilis DHA41 Display Broad-Spectrum Antifungal Activity against Soil-Borne Phytopathogenic Fungi

Abstract

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) is a devastating soil-borne fungus causing Fusarium wilt in watermelon. The present study investigated the biochemical mechanism underlying the antifungal activity exhibited by the antagonistic bacterial strain DHA41, particularly against Fon. Molecular characterization based on the 16S rRNA gene confirmed that DHA41 is a strain of Bacillus subtilis, capable of synthesizing antifungal lipopeptides, such as iturins and fengycins, which was further confirmed by detecting corresponding lipopeptide biosynthesis genes, namely ItuB, ItuD, and FenD. The cell-free culture filtrate and extracellular lipopeptide extract of B. subtilis DHA41 demonstrated significant inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth of Fon, Didymella bryoniae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium graminearum, and Rhizoctonia solani. The lipopeptide extract showed emulsification activity and inhibited Fon mycelial growth by 86.4% at 100 µg/mL. Transmission electron microscope observations confirmed that the lipopeptide extract disrupted Fon cellular integrity. Furthermore, B. subtilis DHA41 emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that exhibited antifungal activity against Fon, D. bryoniae, S. sclerotiorum, and F. graminearum. These findings provide evidence that B. subtilis DHA41 possesses broad-spectrum antifungal activity against different fungi pathogens, including Fon, through the production of extracellular lipopeptides and VOCs.

Bacillus-based biocontrol beyond chemical control in central Africa: the challenge of turning myth into reality

“…B. subtilis AUBB20 inhibited the growth of the coffee pathogen F. xylarioides through its secreted lytic enzymes ( Muleta et al., 2007 ). Antagonistic activities of Bacillus subtilis strains have also been reported against fungi and oomycetes, including Alternaria linariae ( da Silva Junior et al., 2023 ), Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , Rhizoctonia solani ( Al-Mutar et al., 2023 ), Colletotrichum lindemuthianum ( Martins et al., 2019 ), Mycosphaerella fijiensis ( Gutierrez-Monsalve et al., 2015 ), Verticillium dahliae ( Dhouib et al., 2019 ), Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici ( Aydi Ben Abdallah et al., 2017 ), Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ( Luna-Bulbarela et al., 2018 ) and Phytophthora infestans ( Zhang J. et al., 2023b ).…”