Numerical Identification of Streptomyces fIaveus Producing Antibiotic Substances Inhibitory to Plant Pathogenic Fungi

The actinomycete strain A 11 was antagonistic to plant pathogenic fungi Phytophthora capsid and Magnaporthe grisea. Based on the diaminopimelic acid (DAP) type and morphological characteristics examined by scanning electron microscopy, the strain A 11 was confirmed to belong to the genus Streptomyces. Based on Willcox probability and similarity level, the strain A 11 was numerically identified as Streptomyces flaveus using TAXON program of Ward and Goodfellow. Antibiotic production of S. flaveus strain A 11 was most favorable when cultured on glycerol yeast extract peptone (GYP) agar for 20 days at $28^{\circ}C$. The crude antibiotics from solid GYP agar cultures of the strain A 11 were most effective against Phytophthora capsici and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum among the fungi tested. Antifungal activity of the antibiotics against Alternaria solani, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Cercospora capsici, Magnaporthe grisea, and Rhizoctonia solani was somewhat high, whereas Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum were rarely inhibited even at high concentrations.