Antifungal attributes of siderophore produced by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa JAS-25

Siderophores produced by Pseudomonas sp. play a vital role in controlling several plant diseases. Public concern about chemical pesticides has fostered an interest to seek alternative control strategies. Production of siderophore by Pseudomonas aeruginosa JAS-25 in King B medium was estimated at 400 nm and was partially purified by gel filtration chromatography using Sephadex G 25. Antifungal activity and inhibition of spore germination was studied against the phytopathogens like Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri, Fusarium udum, and Aspergillus niger by well plate assay and microphotographic method. Zone of inhibition of 3.0 cm was observed for F. udum and A. niger, proving it as potential biocontrol agent against phytopathogens. Partial 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that the isolate JAS-25 exhibited 99% homology with P. aeruginosa and could be of novel species and the sequence of the strain was deposited in Genbank with the accession number JX104229.