Leaf blast disease reduction by rice-phyllosphere actinomycetes producing bioactive compounds

Fungal leaf blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, is a devastating disease of rice plants that annually causes severe production losses worldwide and is one of the top 10 fungal diseases that threaten global food security. Thus, a reliable control strategy against this disease is essential. In this study, the antagonistic activity of indigenous phyllosphere actinomycetes was elucidated against P. oryzae in vitro and in planta to develop an efficient, effective and environmental friendly approach to protect rice plants against P. oryzae. Of 75 isolates of actinomycetes isolated from the rice phyllosphere, 18 isolates inhibited P. oryzae by >45%. According to analysis of their 16 S rRNA gene sequences, the majority of the 18 isolates belonged to Streptomyces genera; others were identified as belonging to Saccharothrix, Gordonia, or Lentzea. Isolates that potentially produced a bioactive compound(s) were identified among the 18 isolates: 17 isolates (94.44%) had a domain marker for nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene and 12 (66.67%) had type-I polyketide synthase (PKS) gene in their corresponding genome. Interestingly, isolates JSN1.9, SKB2.14, and SKB2.3 suppressed disease suppression by approximately 88%. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the application of rice-phyllosphere actinomycetes producing bioactive compounds to control leaf blast disease in Indonesia. Thus, these findings have escalated the potential application of phyllosphere actinomycetes as a supreme biocontrol agent against fungal leaf blast disease.