NSF Award
8860278
A strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens has been developed which shows inhibition of Pythium ultimum, Fusarium, Thielaviopsis basicola and other pathogenic fungi by producing a novel antibiotic, fusaromycin A. Both P. ultimum and T. basucika are important components of the seedling disease complex of cotton. The goal of this proposal is to understand the genetic and biochemical basis of this inhibition as a means to developing an improved microbial fungicide for this crop. The immediate objective is to isolate the genomic regions which carry the antibiotic biosynthetic genes by complementation with chemical mutants which have lost fungal inhibition activity. This will permit the assessment of the level of genetic complexity of the biosynthetic pathway. The research will open the way to the development of improved bacterial fungicides to control soil-borne fungi pathogenic to plants.
