Efficacy of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens as biocontrol agent to fight fungal diseases of maize under tropical climates: from lab to field assays in south Kivu.

In the province of South Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo), warm and humid climatic conditions favor the development and spreading of phytopathogens. The resulting diseases cause important losses in production both in crop and after harvest. In this study, we wanted to evaluate the potential of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens as biocontrol agent to fight some newly isolated endemic fungal pathogens infesting maize.

Stimulation of Fengycin-Type Antifungal Lipopeptides in in the Presence of the Maize Fungal Pathogen .

Most isolates belonging to the subsp. clade retain the potential to produce a vast array of structurally diverse antimicrobial compounds that largely contribute to their efficacy as biocontrol agents against numerous plant fungal pathogens. In that context, the role of cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs) has been well-documented but still little is known about the impact of interactions with other soil-inhabiting microbes on the expression of these molecules.