Abstract
An antifungal protein synthesized by Bacillus cereus has been partially purified by the use of ammonium sulfate precipitation and Sephadex-G-200 column chromatography. The protein was produced from Bacillus cereus grown in potato dextrose broth medium (PDB) at 30 degrees C for 3 days at 100 rpm. The protein showed antagonistic effect against some fungi and yeasts. Crude extract from medium and semi-purified protein were tested in vitro against both fungi and yeasts using the disc diffusion method in order to detect the inhibitory effect of the protein. Zones of inhibition of the following diameter were found (mm) were Alternaria alternate(28), Rhodotorula glutinis(20), Fusarium sp.(16), Rhizopus sp.(15), Penicillium digitatum(13), Mucor sp.(13) and Aspergillus niger(10). The isolated protein was found to have a molecular weight of similar to 35kDa by sodium deodecyl sulfate-poly acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The data showed that the protein of Bacillus cereus has antifungal activity, a fact which points to the possibility of using it as a biocontrol agent against some fungi, findings which emphasize the potential role of B. cereus as an important biocontrol agent.