Biological control of wheat powdery mildew disease by the termite-associated fungus Aspergillus chevalieri BYST01 and potential role of secondary metabolites

BACKGROUND: Wheat powdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt) is a serious fungal disease. Natural metabolites produced by microorganisms are beneficial biological control agents to inhibit Bgt. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Aspergillus chevalieri BYST01 on wheat powdery mildew. RESULTS: A strain isolated from the termite was identified as A. chevalieri BYST01 by morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. The fermentation broth of BYST01 showed good biocontrol effect on the Bgt in vivo with the control efficiencies of 81.59% and 71.34% under the protective and therapeutic tests, respectively. Four known metabolites, including the main compound physcion (30 mg/L), were isolated from the fermentation broth of BYST01 extracted with ethyl acetate. Importantly, under a concentration of 0.1 mM, physcion repressed conidial germination of Bgt with an inhibition rate of 77.04% in vitro and showed important control efficiencies of 80.36% and 74.64% in vivo under the protective and therapeutic tests, respectively. Hence, the BYST01 showed important potential as a microbial cell factory for the high yield of the green natural fungicide physcion. Finally, the biosynthetic gene clusters responsible for physicon production in BYST01 was predicted by analyzing a chromosome-scale genome obtained using a combination of Illumina, PacBio, and Hi-C sequencing technologies. CONCLUSION: Aspergillus chevalieri BYST01 and its main metabolite physcion had a significant control effect on wheat powdery mildew. The biosynthesis pathway of physcion in BYST01 was predicted. (c) 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.