Antifungal Activity of Endophytic Bacillus spp. Bacteria and Its Effect on Root and Coleoptile Length during Germination Period

In this study, endophytic bacteria were isolated from roots and crowns of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), olive (Olea europaea L.), and loquat (Eriobotrya japonica L.) plant samples. The morphological and physiological properties of nine isolated endophytic bacteria were determined. All isolates were identified as Gram-positive, oxidase-positive and catalase-positive. Amylase, cellulase, and carbohydrate tests gave positive results. Antagonistic activities of the isolates against fungal pathogens varied between 85.7% and 52.9% against Fusarium culmorum and between 86.0% and 65.1% against Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. BMBA2 isolate gave the best results both in Petri dish antagonistic activity and in wheat seed germination in terms of root length and coleoptile length. BMBA2 isolates gave the best results with a coleoptile length of 7.58 cm and root length of 8.33 cm. In wheat seeds treated with F. culmorum and bacteria, the BMBA2 isolate gave the best result with a coleoptile length of 6.98 and a root length of 7.30 cm. For the identification of bacteria, in vitro BiBA1 and ND3BA were determined as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum; BiBA2 and YDBA as Bacillus subtilis; NDBA, ND2BA, BMBA1, BMBA2, and BMBA3 as Bacillus mojavensis. Since this is the first study to use endophytic Bacillus mojavensis as a biological agent against F. culmorum and N. dimidiatum pathogens, the results obtained from this study are thought to be important and promising in terms of application.