Antifungal activities of an endophytic Pseudomonas fluorescens strain Pf1TZ harbouring genes from pyoluteorin and phenazine clusters.

Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf1TZ was inhibitory in vitro to a number of phytopathogenic fungi and could protect vine plantlets against Botrytis cinerea. Total protection was reached after 3 weeks of bacterial inoculation. The endophytism of Pf1TZ was confirmed by confocal microscopy using its inherent fluorescence. The molecular characterization of Pf1TZ indicated the presence of genes from clusters encoding pyoluteorin and phenazine. The chromatographic purification and LC-MS(n) analysis revealed that the most active one has a molecular mass of 504 Da.