Abstract
A new actinomycetes strain isolated from forest soil and designated as Streptomyces spp. ERI-04 isolated from Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India showed antifungal activity against plant pathogens and dermatophytes. Culture characteristic studies strongly suggested that this strain belonged to the genus Streptomyces. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1426 bp) of Streptomyces spp. ERI-04 exhibited close similarity (98-99%) with other Streptomyces. Phylogenetic tree was made by neighbor-joining method. Antifungal metabolite production of Streptomyces strain ERI-04 was evaluated using six different fermentation media. Modified nutrient glucose medium was a very good base for the production of antifungal metabolite. The isolate showed inhibitory interaction with Aspergillus niger and the extracellular products contained potent antifungal agents. The minimum inhibitory concentration of organic extract of ERI-04 against Aspergillus niger was 62.5 and 125 mu g/ml for T rubrum, E. floccosum, M. grisea and T simii. Extra cellular product exhibited moderate antifeedant activity against Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.