We have reported an effective approach to achieve the ecologically
friendly control of ginseng anthracnose, one of the most
harmful diseases of this crop. The protective effects of B. subtilis HKCSM-
1 were similar to those of the commercial fungicide ITA.
However, this study was conducted on containerized plants and
further studies are required to investigate whether these results
hold true under field conditions. To develop an effective biological
control standard, it is necessary to test the protective effects of
B. subtilis in the field, including the determination of the optimum
time for the treatment. In addition, formulations prolonging the
survival of the bacterium on crop plants are necessary. This study
provides a foundation to enable the development of ecologically
friendly agricultural biotechnology methods for protection against
ginseng diseases.
It has been suggested that the genus Bacillus can be considered
as a microbial “factory”, as the species in this genus produce a wide
variety of antibiotic metabolites. These compounds, including lipopeptides,
have shown diverse inhibitory effects on the growth of
various phytopathogens.
Furthermore, approximately 4e5% of the
genome of B. subtilis contains genes suitable for the synthesis of
antibiotics; it has been proposed that over two dozen structurally
diverse antimicrobial compounds are produced by this species [12].
Based on these reports, it is likely that the antifungal activity of
B. subtilis HK-CSM-1 is due to the production of certain antibiotic
compounds. Identification of these putative antibiotic compounds
may be helpful in expanding our understanding of microbial
functions in ecosystems, with the purpose of developing biotechnological
tools to control a broad range of plant diseases.