Disease Control Effect of Strevertenes Produced by Streptomyces psammoticus against Tomato Fusarium Wilt

During screening of microorganisms producing antifungal metabolites, Streptomyces psammoticus strain KP1404 was isolated. The culture extract of this strain showed potent disease control efficacy against Fusarium wilt on tomato plants. The antifungal metabolites ST-1 and ST-2 were isolated from the culture extract using a variety of chromatographic procedures. On the basis of MS and NMR spectrometric analysis, the structures of the antifungal active compounds ST-1 and ST-2 were determined to be the polyene antibiotics strevertene A and strevertene B, respectively. In vitro, strevertenes A and B showed inhibitory effects against the mycelial growth of Alternaria mali, Aspergillus oryzae, Cylindrocarpon destructans, Colletotrichum orbiculare, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, even at concentrations of 4-16 mu g/mL. Fusarium wilt development on tomato plants was strongly retarded by treatment with 1 mu g/mL of these strevertenes. The disease control efficacies of strevertenes on Fusarium wilt were as remarkable as that of benomyl.