Influence of Environmental Factors on the Antagonistic Effects of Aspergillus Species on Phytopathogenic Alternaria alternata

Fatima Zahrae. Moussaid*, Azeddin El Barnossi, Abdelilah Iraqi. Housseini

Laboratory of Biotechnology, Environment, Agri-Food, and Health, Faculty of Sciences, Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco

Corresponding Author: [email protected]; Tel: +212664844216

Recieved Date: 12 June 2021; Accepted Date: 28 September 2021; Published Date: 03 November

Citation: Moussaid FZ, El Barnossi A, Housseini AI. Influence of Environmental Factors on the Antagonistic Effects of Aspergillus species on Phytopathogenic Alternaria alternata. Trop J Nat Prod Res. 2021; 5(10): 1755-1759. http://www.doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v5i10.10

Copyright:

© 2021 Moussaid et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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ABSTRACT

The control of phytopathogens such as Alternaria alternata in plants, including tomato by chemical method has sometimes yielded satisfactory results. However, the excessive use of chemical fungicides has contributed to the development of resistant strains. Biocontrol is considered a promising alternative by the integration of microbiological agents. Environmental factors have been observed to influence the antagonistic efficacy of biocontrol microorganisms. This study was aimed at determining the influence of different environmental conditions on the antagonistic efficacy of Aspergillus sp. against Alternaria alternata. From infected tomato fruits, A. alternata was isolated and identified using morphological characterization. A total of seventy-three fungal isolates from a collection of 254 isolates were screened for antagonistic activity against A. alternata using the dual culture technique. Antifungal activity of Aspergillus sp. against A. alternata was evaluated using a dual culture technique.  Also, the effects of temperature, culture media and pH on the cultures of the antifungal activity assay were investigated. Data on percentage and zone of inhibition, as well as radial mycelial growth, were collected. The results showed a difference in the mycelial growth of A. alternata during in vitro interaction with Aspergillus sp. The antifungal potential was significantly higher in malt extract agar medium (66.6%) after seven days of incubation. A. alternata was inhibited with a large zone of inhibition at 28°C (63%). The optimum antifungal activity of Aspergillus sp. was achieved at pH 5. This study demonstrated that Aspergillus sp. is an effective and promising biocontrol agent against A. alternata under different environmental conditions.