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Endophytic Bacterial Communities in Ginseng and their Antifungal Activity Against Pathogens

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Abstract

Plant roots are associated with diverse communities of endophytic bacteria which do not exert adverse effects. The diversity of bacterial endophytes associated with ginseng roots cultivated in three different areas in Korea was investigated. Sixty-three colonies were isolated from the interior of ginseng roots. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolates belonged to three major phylogenetic groups: the high G+C Gram-positive bacteria (HGCGPB), low G+C Gram-positive bacteria (LGCGPB), and the Proteobacteria. The dominant species at the three different ginseng growing areas were: HGCGPB at Ganghwa (55.0%), LGCGPB at Geumsan (45.5%), and Proteobacteria at Jinan (61.9%). Most cellulase-, xylanase-, and pectinase-producing colonies among the isolates belong to the LGCGPB group, except for Pectobacterium carotovora which belonged to the Proteobacteria. The 13 isolates belonging to LGCGPB and Proteobacteria were assessed for their antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi such as Rhizoctonia solani. Among them, Paenibacillus polymyxa GS01, Bacillus sp. GS07, and Pseudomonas poae JA01 show potential activity as biocontrol agents against phytopathogenic fungi. Finally, most of the low G+C Gram-positive bacteria with antifungal activity against phytopathogenic microorganisms showed cellulolytic enzyme activity while some Proteobacteria with the antifungal activity and the high G+C Gram-positive bacteria did not show any cellulolytic activity.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the 21C Frontier Microbial Genomics and Application Center Program, Ministry of Science & Technology, and BioGreen 21 Program, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea. This work was supported by the Brain Korea21 project in 2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Applied Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Chinju, 660-701, Republic of Korea

    Kye Man Cho, Su Young Hong, Sun Mi Lee, Yong Hee Kim, Goon Gjung Kahng & Han Dae Yun

  2. Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Chinju, 660-701, Republic of Korea

    Han Dae Yun

  3. Department of Horticulture, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, South Korea

    Yong Pyo Lim

  4. Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Sunchon National University, Sunchon, 540-742, Republic of Korea

    Hoon Kim

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  1. Kye Man Cho
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Cho, K.M., Hong, S.Y., Lee, S.M. et al. Endophytic Bacterial Communities in Ginseng and their Antifungal Activity Against Pathogens. Microb Ecol 54, 341–351 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9208-3

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