Exploring the potential of lactic acid bacteria from rhizosphere of papaya for hydrogen cyanide production

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) produced by plant growth promoting bacteria plays an important role in enhancing plant growth. This chemical compound helps in suppressing plant pathogens and act as biological control agent against plant diseases. HCN is also known as an antimicrobial compound involved in biological control of many root diseases. In Malaysia, the spread of Papaya Dieback Disease (PDD) has caused great losses to papaya production. Unfortunately, the effective remedies to combat this disease are lacking. This study was carried out to investigate the potential of LAB as biological control agent in producing hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as a mechanism to inhibit the causing pathogen of PDD, Erwinia mallotivora. Five endophytes and twenty rhizospheric microbes from papaya plant were tested for their HCN-producing ability and it was found that the produced HCN levels were successfully detectable. These findings revealed one of the alternatives that can be used in agriculture to control plant diseases. The use of these promising isolates in biofertilizer is anticipated to restrain the pathogen and enhance plant growth.

Text FBSB 2015 156 - IR.pdf Download (1MB)

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