Antibacterial Activities of Metabolites Produced by Erwinia spp. against Various Phytopathogenic Bacteria.

Abstract

A total of 80 strains of Erwinia spp. isolated in Japan and Thailand were screened for activity against 7 species of plant pathogenic bacteria: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas cepacia [Burkholderia cepacia], P. solanacearum [Ralstonia solanacearum], P. syringae pv. syringae [P. syringae pv. japonica], Xanthomonas campestris [X. axonopodis] pv. citri and X. oryzae pv. oryzae. The production of antibacterial substances was detected using the plate-chloroform method. A total of 38 strains of Erwinia spp. showed antibacterial activity against at least 1 phytopathogenic bacterium. The activity spectra differed greatly among Thai and Japanese strains of Erwinia spp. The Thai strains of E.carotovora subsp. carotovora produced several kinds of antibacterial substances depending on the strain/medium combination. In addition, an unidentified substance(s) in the potato broth culture is favourable for the antibacterial substance(s) production.