Taxonomic Affiliation and Fungicidal and Protective Activities of the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 16-1111 Strain

Abstract

The experimental data on the study of the taxonomic position and biological properties, including fungicidal and protective activities, of a strain of spore-forming bacteria typified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens based on the analysis of sequences of variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene are presented. The strain was established to have a wide spectrum of fungicidal activity and to suppress the development of representatives of six genera of phytopathogenic fungi that play a major role in the pathogenesis of agricultural crops, namely, Fusarium (F. solani, F. oxysporum, F. graminearum, F. nivale), Rhizoctonia (R. solani), Alternaria (A. tenuis), Phoma (P. solanicola), Sclerotinia (S. sclerotiorum), Botrytis (B. cinerea), and Magnaporthe (M. grisea). In vitro and in vivo experiments for the culture fluid of the B. amyloliquefaciens 16-1111 strain demonstrated, on the one hand, the absence of phytotoxicity and, on the other hand, protective and stimulating effects on germinating seeds of vegetable crops of the family Cucurbitaceae and plants cultivated in protected ground.