Antibacterial activities of penicillic acid isolated from Aspergillus persii against various plant pathogenic bacteria.
The emergence of pathogenic bacterial strains resistant to agrochemicals and the increasing demand for organic foods have led to the discovery of new antibacterial metabolites that can be used either directly or as a lead molecule for development of synthetic bactericides. During the screening of antibacterial fungal cultures, we found that one fungal strain, Aspergillus persii EML-HPB1-11, showed strong in vitro antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 10% of fermentation broth filtrate. The active compound was identified as penicillic acid (PA: 3-methoxy-5-methyl-4-oxo-2,5-hexadienoic acid) by mass and NMR spectroscopy. The in vitro antibacterial activity of PA was tested against 12 phytopathogenic bacteria. All of the bacterial pathogens tested were highly inhibited by PA with MIC values of 12·3-111·1 μg ml(-1) . It also effectively suppressed the development of bacterial spot disease in detached peach leaves, showing control values of 82·4 and 94·1% at concentrations of 111·1 and 333·3 μg ml(-1) respectively. This is the first report on the production of PA by A. persii. This study suggests that PA can be used as a lead molecule for development of synthetic bactericides for control of various plant diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Penicillic acid (PA) produced by the seed-borne fungus Aspergillus persii EML-HPB1-11 showed antibacterial activity against various plant pathogenic bacteria. The compound effectively inhibited the growth of 12 plant pathogenic bacteria and successfully controlled bacterial spot disease on peach leaf. These results suggest that PA can be used as a lead molecule for development of synthetic agrochemicals to control plant bacterial diseases.
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
H T
HT
Nguyen
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
N H
NH
Yu
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
S J
SJ
Jeon
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
H W
HW
Lee
Biological and Genetic Resources Assessment Division, National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, Korea.
C-H
CH
Bae
Biological and Genetic Resources Assessment Division, National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, Korea.
J H
JH
Yeo
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
H B
HB
Lee
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
I-S
IS
Kim
World Institute of Kimchi, an Annex of Korea Food Research Institute, Gwangju, Korea.
H W
HW
Park
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.
J-C
JC
Kim
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D061046:Biological Control Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010398:Penicillic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D012639:Seeds / Q000382:microbiology; D014974:Xanthomonas / Q000187:drug effects*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D061046:Biological Control Agents; D010398:Penicillic Acid
Aspergillus persii; Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni; antibacterial activity; biocontrol; penicillic acid