Degradation of the fungal cell wall by clostridial strains isolated from soil subjected to biological soil disinfestation and biocontrol of Fusarium wilt disease of spinach.

Biological soil disinfestation (BSD) involves elimination of soil-borne plant pathogens in an environmentally friendly manner. Two anaerobic bacterial strains (H110 and TB8) isolated from BSD-treated soil samples were analyzed for their roles in elimination of pathogenic fungi. The two strains were identified as Clostridium beijerinckii based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and phenotypic properties. The strains fermented various carbohydrates and produced acetate, butyrate, and n-butanol as major products as well as abundant gases (H and CO). For evaluation of the antifungal potential of these strains, cells of a pathogen (spinach wilt disease, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. spinaciae) were co-inoculated into anaerobic media with each anaerobic strain. After incubation for ~3 weeks at 30 °C, 10-30% of the cells of the pathogen survived when incubated without the anaerobic isolates, whereas the pathogen was eliminated when co-incubated with each anaerobe because of the growth of the anaerobic bacterium. It was found by microscopic examination that mycelial cells of the fungal pathogen were severely degraded during the first 3-7 days of the co-incubation. The two strains utilized major cell wall polysaccharides of ascomycetous fungi-chitosan and ß-1,3-glucan (curdlan and laminarin)-as fermentative substrates added to the medium. Furthermore, both isolates degraded a cell wall preparation isolated from the mycelium of the Fusarium pathogen of spinach wilt disease. We concluded that the two anaerobic strains kill the pathogen of spinach wilt disease by degrading major fungal cell wall components as antifungal activities.