Antibacterial activities of penicillic acid isolated from Aspergillus persii against various plant pathogenic bacteria

The emergence of pathogenic bacterial strains resistant to agrochemicals and the increasing demand for organic foods have led to the discovery of new antibacterial metabolites that can be used either directly or as a lead molecule for development of synthetic bactericides. During the screening of antibacterial fungal cultures, we found that one fungal strain, Aspergillus persii EML‐HPB1‐11, showed strong in vitro antibacterial activity against Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 10% of fermentation broth filtrate. The active compound was identified as penicillic acid (PA: 3‐methoxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐oxo‐2,5‐hexadienoic acid) by mass and NMR spectroscopy. The in vitro antibacterial activity of PA was tested against 12 phytopathogenic bacteria. All of the bacterial pathogens tested were highly inhibited by PA with MIC values of 12·3–111·1 μg ml−1. It also effectively suppressed the development of bacterial spot disease in detached peach leaves, showing control values of 82·4 and 94·1% at concentrations of 111·1 and 333·3 μg ml−1 respectively. This is the first report on the production of PA by A. persii. This study suggests that PA can be used as a lead molecule for development of synthetic bactericides for control of various plant diseases. Significance and Impact of the Study Penicillic acid (PA) produced by the seed‐borne fungus Aspergillus persii EML‐HPB1‐11 showed antibacterial activity against various plant pathogenic bacteria. The compound effectively inhibited the growth of 12 plant pathogenic bacteria and successfully controlled bacterial spot disease on peach leaf. These results suggest that PA can be used as a lead molecule for development of synthetic agrochemicals to control plant bacterial diseases. Significance and Impact of the Study: Penicillic acid (PA) produced by the seed‐borne fungus Aspergillus persii EML‐HPB1‐11 showed antibacterial activity against various plant pathogenic bacteria. The compound effectively inhibited the growth of 12 plant pathogenic bacteria and successfully controlled bacterial spot disease on peach leaf. These results suggest that PA can be used as a lead molecule for development of synthetic agrochemicals to control plant bacterial diseases.