Ovicidal activity of lactic acid produced by Lysobacter capsici YS1215 on eggs of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita.

Lysobacter capsici YS1215 isolated from soil previously showed nematicidal potential for biological control of the root-knot nematode. In this study, lactic acid, a nematicidal compound, was isolated from culture filtrate of YS1215, and its ovicidal activity was investigated. Purification and identification of lactic acid were performed by a series of column chromatographies and identified by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra and GC-MS analysis. Our results showed that bacterial culture filtrate containing lactic acid significantly inhibited egg hatching. The lowest egg hatch rate (5.9%) was found at a high concentration (25 μl/ml) of lactic acid at 5 days after incubation, followed by 20 (15.2%), 15 (23.7%), 10 (29.8%), and 5 (36.4%) μl/ml, while egg hatching in the control (sterile distilled water) was 44.5%. This is the first report of lactic acid as an ovicidal compound, and it may be considered as an alternative of chemical pesticide against root-knot nematodes.