Effect of substrate characteristics on the growth and sporulation of two biocontrol microorganisms during solid state cultivation

Ga Young Lee, Wenqi Li, Ulalo M. Chirwa, Jian Shi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Biocontrol agents are a group of naturally occurring organisms capable of interrupting the lifespan and suppressing the propagation of disease organisms. The use of biocontrol agents offers an environment-friendly and sustainable solution to the synthetic agrochemicals. In this study, we investigated parboiled rice and millets as substrates for spore production of two model biocontrol microorganisms (Bacillus pumilus and Strqjtomyces griseus) under solid state cultivation (SSC) conditions. The effects of cultivation parameters such as initial moisture content, water activity, and cultivation time on microbial growth and spore production were studied. Furthermore, texture profile analysis was performed to test the stress and strain curve and the hardness and stickiness of the substrates. The greatest spore production occurred at 50% moisture content with millets as a substrate, yielding a count of 1.34 x 108 spore^g-wet-substrate enumerated with plate count analysis and 1.70 x 108 events/g-wet-substrate using flow cytometry analysis. Substrate texture profile was highly correlative to the initial moisture content and substrate type and all proved to be essential process variables in controlling the bacterial growth and sporulation during SSC processes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number69
JournalFermentation
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 MDPI AG. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Biocontrol
  • Flow cytometry
  • Solid-state fermentation
  • Soybean rust disease

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of substrate characteristics on the growth and sporulation of two biocontrol microorganisms during solid state cultivation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this