Antifungal Activities of Bacillus mojavensis BQ-33 towards the Kiwifruit Black Spot Disease Caused by the Fungal Pathogen Didymella glomerata .

'Hongyang' kiwifruit (, cultivar 'Hongyang') black spot disease is caused by the fungal pathogen , and is a serious disease, causing considerable losses to the kiwifruit industry during growth of the fruit. Hence, we aimed to identify a potential biocontrol agent against . In this study, bacterial isolates from the rhizosphere soil of kiwifruit were tested for their potential antifungal activity against selected fungal pathogens. Based on a phylogenetic tree constructed using sequences of 16S rDNA and the gene, BQ-33 with the best antifungal activity was identified as . We evaluated the antagonistic activity and inhibitory mechanism of BQ-33 against . Confrontation experiments showed that both BQ-33 suspension and the sterile supernatant (SS) produced by BQ-33 possessed excellent broad-spectrum antifungal activity. Furthermore, the SS damaged the cell membrane and cell wall of the mycelia, resulting in the leakage of a large quantity of small ions (Na, K), soluble proteins and nucleic acids. Chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase activities in SS increased in correlation with incubation time and remained at a high level for several days. An in vivo control efficacy assay indicated that 400 mL L of SS completely inhibited kiwifruit black spot disease caused by . Therefore, BQ-33 is a potential biocontrol agent against kiwifruit black spot and plant diseases caused by other fungal pathogens. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of a rhizosphere microorganism as a biocontrol agent against kiwifruit black spot disease caused by .