Rapid screening of starter cultures for maari based on antifungal properties

Publication date: Available online 11 November 2017 Source:Microbiological Research Author(s): Donatien Kaboré, Mérilie Gagnon, Denis Roy, Hagrétou Sawadogo-Lingani, Bréhima Diawara, Gisèle LaPointe Forty Bacillus isolates obtained from maari (used as condiment in Burkina Faso) including 17 B. subtilis, 4 B. circulans, 7 B. pumilus and 6 B. licheniformis were investigated for use as starter cultures in maari production. The isolates were screened by PCR for the sfp gene responsible for the production of the lipopeptide biosurfactant, surfactin. The sfp gene was detected in all of the seventeen B. subtilis isolates, in 2 out of 7 B. pumilus, in 4 out of 6 B. licheniformis whereas no B. circulans was positive for the sfp gene by PCR screening. Furthermore, all the 40 Bacillus spp. were screened for biosurfactant production and inhibitory activity against Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. versicolor and Rhizopus oryzae. Results demonstrated a relationship between the presence of the sfp gene and the antifungal activity and biosurfactant production of Bacillus isolates. In addition, molecular typing of the 17 B. subtilis isolates by Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) resulted in 15 Sequence Types, one of them included three strains. Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR), used for B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. circulans and B. pumilus revealed that the inhibitory activity and biosurfactant production were strain-dependent. Finally, the detection of chi...
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research