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Novel approaches for application of biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa for biocontrol of Colletotrichum capsici responsible for anthracnose disease in chilli

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Abstract

Anthracnose disease caused by fungal pathogen Colletotrichum capsici is considered to be one of the most destructive diseases in chilli cultivation as it infects and leads to complete destruction of the crop by infecting the mature fruit in the field and/or during the storage period. The management of the disease is difficult due to the absence of any resistant cultivar and effective fungicide. The current study was initiated to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of the biosurfactant produced by strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa JS29 for biological control of anthracnose disease. The results revealed significant disease reduction using biosurfactant in plant assay which were challenge-inoculated with the fungal spore. In vitro experiments clearly showed that the biosurfactant can effectively inhibit the growth of both spore and mycelia of the pathogen. Moreover, the biosurfactant can also effectively inhibit the fungal growth in detached-fruit assay in different storage conditions. The study confirmed that the biosurfactant has tremendous potential to become a viable, cost-effective and environment-friendly alternative for managing anthracnose disease in field and in post-harvest storage condition.

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Acknowledgements

The first author is thankful to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for providing assistance as a Senior Research Fellow (SRF) to carry out the research work under the project BT/186/NE/TBP/2011 sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India to the corresponding author. Authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Hemen Deka, Jintu Rabha, Assistant Professor, Gauhati University and Siddhartha Narayan Borah, Senior Research Fellow, Life Science Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Assam, India for their contribution in statistical analysis, phylogenetic analysis and scanning electron microscopy, respectively.

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  1. Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Paschim Boragaon, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Gorchuk, Guwahati, 781035, India

    Jiumoni Lahkar, Debahuti Goswami & Suresh Deka

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Gauhati University, Guwahati, 781014, India

    Giasuddin Ahmed

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  1. Jiumoni Lahkar
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Lahkar, J., Goswami, D., Deka, S. et al. Novel approaches for application of biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa for biocontrol of Colletotrichum capsici responsible for anthracnose disease in chilli. Eur J Plant Pathol 150, 57–71 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-017-1252-3

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