Purification and Antifungal Activities of an Antibiotic Produced by Gliocladium virens G1 Against Plant Pathogens

This study was undertaken to separate and identify antifungla substances produced by Gilocladium virens G1, a biocontrol agent used for the control of plant diseases caused by Rhizoctonea solani. The culture of G. virens G1 effectively inhibited the growth of R. solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Phytophthora capsici, but less that of Fusarium oxysporum. The n-hexane extract of the G. virens culture, which was used for the purification of responsible substances, strongly inhibited R. solani and C. gloeosporioides, but not P. capsici, although the n-butanol extract was effective on all of the pathogens tested. An antifungal substance was purified using the n-hexane extract by Silica gel column chromatography and HPLC. The substance was examined for purity by HPLC and for nature by UV spectrometry, which differed from known antibiotic compounds such as gliotoxin, viridin and gliovirin. The antifungal substance was very liphophilic based on its solvent-solubility and Rf values on TLC, and more inhibitory to C. gloeosporioides than other fungal pathogens tested.