Abstract
Biological method for silver nanoparticles (SNPs) synthesis has been developed to obtain cost effective, clean, nontoxic, and ecofriendly size-controlled nanoparticles. The cell-free culture filtrate (CFF) of 15 isolates belong to three species of Fusarium genus, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani and Fusarium verticillioides were tested to biosynthesis silver nanoparticles (SNPs). This study is important to find out the anti fungal and anti-aflatoxin capabilities of three Fusarium spp. The synthesized SNPs were further characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The physicochemical conditions were screened for maximal SNPs biosynthesis using Plackett-Burman design. All conditions were highly significant (p < 0.001). In addition, the SNPs showed notable antifungal activity and potency in thwarting aflatoxin production. Thus, using Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus as a test mycotoxigenic fungi. The utility of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles could be an additional tool useful for characterization and identification 15 isolates of Fusarium spp. Molecular analysis based on the fingerprints obtained through Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) indicated the presence of perfect molecular characterization and high genetic diversity among the Fusarium spp. isolates. Cluster analysis using UPGMA method for ISSR markers revealed no clear grouping of the isolates producing and non-producing SNPs. The present study demonstrated that SNPs are a promising approach to control mycotoxigenic fungi; therefore their applications should gained significant importance.