Biocontrol of Fusarium graminearum Growth and Deoxynivalenol Production in Wheat Kernels with Bacterial Antagonists

Fusarium graminearum is the main causal pathogen affecting small-grain cereals, and it produces deoxynivalenol, a kind of mycotoxin, which displays a wide range of toxic effects in human and animals. Bacterial strains isolated from peanut shells were investigated for their activities against F. graminearum by dual-culture plate and tip-culture assays. Among them, twenty strains exhibited potent inhibition to the growth of F. graminearum , and the inhibition rates ranged from 41.41% to 54.55% in dual-culture plate assay and 92.70% to 100% in tip-culture assay. Furthermore, eighteen strains reduced the production of deoxynivalenol by 16.69% to 90.30% in the wheat kernels assay. Finally, the strains with the strongest inhibitory activity were identified by morphological, physiological, biochemical methods and also 16S rDNA and gyr A gene analysis as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens . The current study highlights the potential application of antagonistic microorganisms and their metabolites in the prevention of fungal growth and mycotoxin production in wheat kernels. As a biological strategy, it might avoid safety problems and nutrition loss which always caused by physical and chemical strategies.