virology-infectious-diseases-2019-posters-abstracts

A p r i l 2 2 - 2 3 , 2 0 1 9

A t h e n s , G r e e c e

Page 76

Archives of Clinical Microbiology

ISSN: 1989-8436

Virology and Infectious Diseases 2019

EuroSciCon Conference on

Virology and Infectious Diseases

merging and persistent fungal pathogens increasingly threaten human health, agriculture and natural biodiversity on

a global scale. It has been suggested that this is due to a gradual loss in drug efficacy as microbes adapt to evade

familiar antifungal treatments. In addition to this, slow antifungal drug development has led to developed antifungal

drug resistance in a range of fungal pathogens. For this reason, medicinal plants and plant-associated microorganisms

are being investigated as sources of novel antifungal compounds. Antifungal peptides (AFPs), for example are rapid

acting, biodegradable microbiocides. This study evaluates potential AFP production in microbial isolates associated

with

Pelargonium sidoides

. Crude extracts of bacterial and fungal isolates were cultured using a variety of different

growth conditions and tested against a panel of medicinally and agriculturally important fungal pathogens. Extracts

were also tested for haemolytic activity, biofilm eradication capabilities and analysed by LC-MS to detect known

antifungal peptides. Molecular techniques were used to identify microbial isolates using multiple gene regions (16S,

Gyr B, Rec A, Atp D, ITS and β-tubulin). Some microbial isolates produced a crude extract with fungastatic activity. The

crude extracts inhibited the growth of fungal pathogens

Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans, Botrytis cinerea

and

Fusarium oxysporum

when grown on solid media. Microbial isolates identified were

Bacillus, Pseudomonas and

two Penicillium

species. Surfactins and fengycins A and B were detected in one very potent Bacillus extract called

YC2. These compounds are known lipopeptides and with further optimisation could be implemented agrochemical

applications and perhaps future medicinal drugs.

Identification of

Pelargonium sidoides

root-

associated microbes and their potential for

antifungal lipopeptide production

Lauren du Toit

South Africa

Arch Clin Microbiol 2019, Volume:10

DOI: 10.4172/1989-8436-C1-018