Inhibition of the growth of Ascosphaera apis by Bacillus and Paenibacillus strains isolated from honey
Reynaldi, F.J.; De Giusti, M.R.; Alippi, A.M.
Revista Argentina de Microbiologia 36(1): 52-55
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0325-7541 PMID: 15174751 Document Number: 570037
The fungus Ascosphaera apis, the causative agent of chalk brood in honeybee larvae, occurs throughout the world and is found in many beekeeping areas of Argentina. A total of 249 aerobic spore-forming bacterial antagonists isolated from honey samples were evaluated for their potential as biocontrol agents. Each isolate was screened against A. apis by a central disk test assay. Ten bacterial strains that showed the best antagonistic effect to A. apis were selected for further study, and were identified as Bacillus cereus (m363, mv86, mv81, mv75), B. circulans (Fr231, m448b), B. megaterium (m435), B. pumilus (m354), B. subtilis (m329), and Paenibacillus alvei (m321). To test the efficacy of the selected strains, a paired culture test was used with 5 replicates of each combination of bacterial antagonist/A. apis strain, and 5 replicates of each control on 4 different culture media. The analysis of variance and posterior comparison of means according to LSD method showed that the best antagonists when using YGPSA medium were B. subtilis (m329) and B. megaterium (m435), and in the case of MYPGP medium the most efficient were B. circulans strains Fr 231 and m448b.