Microbial metabolites in plant disease management: Review on biological approach

Abstract

Biological control of plant diseases through microbial metabolites is an eco-friendly and effective means of reducing or mitigating crop losses. Among these microbial metabolites, antibiotics produced by different bacteria and fungi are now proving to be a new source of potential biopesticides. Various actinomycetes like Streptomyces, Actinoplanes, Actinomadura, Micromonospora, Streptosporangium, Streptoverticillium and Spirillospora, bacteria belonging to the genera Agrobacterium, Bacillus, Burkholderia, Enterobacter, Erwinia, Lysobacter, Pseudomonas, Serratia and a few fungal genera such as Ampelomyces, Aspergillus, Coniothyrium, Gliocladium, Laetisaria, Penicillium, Phlebiopsis, Sporodesmia, Talaromyces, Tilletiopsis, Trichoderma, Trichothecium and non-pathogenic Fusarium are prolific producers of secondary metabolites which at low concentrations are lethal to the growth or metabolic activities of other microorganisms. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, pyocyanin, 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol, pyoluteorin, pyrrolnitrin, hydrogen cyanide, siderophores, zwittermicin a 14, kurstakin, azole compound, ammonia, wuyiencin, viridin, trichodermin, 6-pentyl-2h-pyran-2-one, gliovirin, gliotoxin, harzianopyridone, harzianolide, massoilactone and d-decanolactone, viridepyronone, koningins, t22 azaphilone, t39 butenolide, volatile compounds and trichothecin are some of the metabolites which have been used in plant disease control. These microbial metabolites can be used as a substitute for chemical fungicides and paved way for its use in sustainable agriculture as biopesticides.