Antibacterial activity of wild Xylaria sp. strain R005 (Ascomycetes) against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

There is a growing need for new and effective antibiotic agents due to the recent emergence of life-threatening, multidrug-resistant bacterial infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the present study, the antimicrobial potential of mushroom was investigated against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The mushroom was identified as Xylaria sp. strain R005 based on the morphological characteristics and confirmed by 18S ribosomal RNA sequence comparisons. The crude ethyl acetate extracts of culture filtrate and fruiting bodies of Xylaria sp. showed significant antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains (1-10) and P. aeruginosa strains (1-8). The minimum inhibitory concentration of the ethyl acetate extracts of culture filtrate and fruiting bodies ranged from 225 µg/mL to 625 µg/mL, and 120 µg/mL to 625 µg/mL, respectively, against clinical strains of S. aurues and P. aeruginosa. The synergistic action of extracts of Xylaria sp. with vancomycin and ciprofloxacin was observed against S. aureus strain 6 and P. aeruginosa strain 3, respectively. The fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICIs) of culture filtrate extract with vancomycin and ciprofloxacin were 0.5 and 0.18, respectively. The FICI of fruiting body extract with vancomycin and ciprofloxacin were 0.5 and 0.375, respectively. These results clearly indicate that the metabolites of culture filtrate and fruiting bodies of Xylaria sp. are the potential source for production of new antimicrobial compounds.