Filamentous fungi isolated from grape marc as antagonists of Botrytis cinerea

• Published in: Genetika (Beograd) Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 37 - 48
• Main Authors: Jovicic-Petrovic, Jelena, Stankovic, Ivana, Bulajic, Aleksandra, Krstic, Branka, Kikovic, Dragan, Raicevic, Vera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• ISSN: 0534-0012; 1820-6069
• DOI: 10.2298/GENSR1601037J

In this paper we report on the isolation and identification of three
filamentous fungi from grape marc, and antifungal effect of their cell-free
culture filtrates on the growth of Botrytis cinerea, causal agent of gray
mold. Grape marc is a waste material that has been used as soil amendment in
sustainable agriculture. Isolates originating from grape marc were identified
on the basis of morphological features and internal transcribed spacer rDNA
or ?-tubulin gene sequencing. The presence of three different species,
Penicillium paneum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus fumigatus has
been detected expressing different effect on the growth of B. cinerea. The
effect of crude culture filtrates of selected fungi on B. cinerea growth was
tested. Heat sensitivity of the established inhibition effect was examined by
autoclaving the crude culture filtrate prior to testing. Additional aim was
to determine whether antifungal effect was influenced by previous exposure to
B. cinerea in dual liquid cultures. Crude culture filtrate of A. fumigatus
K16/2 showed the lowest suppression of B. cinerea growth. A maximal
percentage inhibition achieved within the study was 38.2%, 39.8% and 23.8 for
crude filtrates of P. paneum K7/1, P. chrysogenum K11/1 and A. fumigatus
K16/2, respectively. Presence of B. cinerea in dual liquid culture induced
significant increase in antifungal capacity of the culture filtrates in
comparison to pure culture filtrates of the chosen isolates. The antifungal
activity of all of the isolates? culture filtrates retained after heat
treatment suggesting the presence of some thermostable antifungal
metabolites. The results indicate the complexity and specificity of the
interaction between filamentous fungi and B. cinerea. Grape marc is a good
source for isolation od B. cinerea fungal antagonists and their antifungal
metabolites. Specificity of fungal-fungal interactions suggests that further
research on the antagonistic mechanisms and factors affecting them should be
studied separately for each pair of antagonists.