Protective Effects of Filtrates and Extracts from Fungal Endophytes on in .

Fungal endophytes have been found to protect their hosts against multiple fungal pathogens. Frequently, the secondary metabolites produced by the endophyte are responsible for antifungal activity. To develop new bio-products that are more environmentally friendly than synthetic pesticides against , a serious pathogen of many plant species, the antifungal activity of filtrates or extracts from four endophytes was evaluated in different in vitro tests and in plants of . In the dual culture assays, the filtrate of one of the endophytes () completely inhibited the mycelial growth of the pathogen. Moreover, it showed a very low minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). , an endophyte that also showed high inhibitory activity and a low MIC against in those two experiments, provided a clear growth promotion effect when the extracts were applied to seedlings. The extract of also manifested such a promotion effect and was the most effective in reducing the disease severity caused by the pathogen in lupine plants (73% reduction). Results demonstrated the inhibitory activity of the filtrates or extracts of these endophytes against . A better insight into the mechanisms involved may be gained by isolating and identifying the metabolites conferring this inhibitory effect against this oomycete pathogen.