Genotypic characterization of Bacillus subtilis strains colonizing pomegranate phyllosphere and their antagonistic activities against Cercospora beticola

Abstract

The community composition of epiphytic heterotrophic Bacillus subtilis on leaves of pomegranate was investigated. The bacteria were isolated on nutrient agar and systematically identified with morphological characters. Fifteen strains were characterized for their antagonistic potential against Cercospora beticola (causal agent for pomegranate leaf spot). All tested strains showed a significant inhibitory effect against the pathogen. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting technique was applied to study the genetic diversity among the tested strains. This study indicated that there is a significant biochemical and genomic diversity among the B. subtilis strains and this diversity is not highly correlated with habitats and the antagonistic effect of the studied strains.

Keywords:

• Antagonistic
• RAPD-PCR
• dendrogram