ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF TWO STREPTOMYCES SPECIES ISOLATED FROM EGYPTIAN SOIL AGAINST SOME PHYTOPATHOGENIC FUNGI

Abstract

The objective of this study was to isolate and identify Streptomyces species with high antifungal activities against some phytopathogenic fungal strains. Fourteen different Streptomyces isolates were isolated from the soils of the Damietta Governorate, Egypt. The results indicated that two isolates (O5 and M7) showed potent antifungal actions against the tested fungal strains including Alternaria alternata, Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani and Trichoderma harzianum. The strongest inhibition zones of the isolates O5 and M7 were obtained against A. alternata (3.5±0.04 cm and 3.63±0.02 cm, respectively) and M. phaseolina (3.23±0.03 cm and 3.43±0.01 cm, respectively). The two isolates were identified classically and using 16S rDNA sequencing as Streptomyces flavovirens (accession number: EGDA-O5 OM301640) and S. gougerotii (accession number: EGDA-M7 OM301639). The obtained results confirmed that S. flavovirens and S. gougerotii might be used as promising antifungal agents against various fungal strains.