Adam Kenney
Tanzania
Research Article
Soluble material secreted from Penicillium chrysogenum isolate exhibits antifungal activity against Cryphonectria parasitica- the causative agent of the American Chestnut Blight
Author(s): Aleksandr Florjanczyk, Rebecca Barnes, Adam Kenney and Joseph Horzempa
Aleksandr Florjanczyk, Rebecca Barnes, Adam Kenney and Joseph Horzempa
The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was once the dominant canopy tree along the eastern region of the United States. Cryphonectria parasitica, the causative agent of chestnut blight, was introduced from Asia in the early 1900’s, and obliterated the chestnut population within 50 years. We sought to identify environmental microbes capable of producing factors that were fungicidal or inhibited growth of C. parasitica in the hopes developing a biological control of chestnut blight. We isolated a filamentous fungus that significantly inhibited the growth of C. parasitica upon co-cultivation. Extracellular fractions of this fungal isolate prevented C. parasitica growth, indicating that a potential fungicide was produced by the novel isolate. Sequence analysis of 18S rRNA identified this inhibitory fungus as Penicillium chrysogenu.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2157-7471.1000348