A novel fungal strain, Bjerkandera adusta BK-1, as a promising broad-spectrum biological control agent against plant fungal diseases

ABSTRACT

In this study, we aimed to investigate the biopesticide activity of a novel fungal strain Bjerkandera adusta BK-1. The in vitro inhibitory potential of BK-1 against six species of identified phytopathogenic fungi was evaluated using a dual culture assay. In addition, in-planta treatment with BK-1 as a fungicide significantly reduced plant disease symptoms, such as grey mould, brown spot, and early blight disease. Furthermore, the colonisation ability of BK-1 in soil and leaves was also found to be stable. Overall, BK-1 has practical value as a novel, promising broad-spectrum biocontrol agent against multiple plant fungal diseases.

KEYWORDS:

• Biocontrol agent
• Bjerkandera adusta
• plant disease
• antifungal
• biopesticide

Acknowledgments

We thank Taylor and Francis Group for providing language help, writing assistance and proof reading the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Plan (2016YFD0100202 and 2018YFD0100501) and the Sichuan Province Breeding Project (2016NYZ0031).