The antifungal activity of cecropin A(2-8)-melittin(6-9) hybrid undecapeptides, previously reported as active against plant pathogenic bacteria, was studied. A set of 15 sequences was screened in vitro against Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer. Most compounds were highly active against F. oxysporum (MIC < 2.5 microM) but were less active agains...

Bread is a staple food consumed worldwide on a daily basis. Fungal contamination of bread is a critical concern for producers since it is related to important economic losses and safety hazards due to the negative impact of sensorial quality and to the potential occurrence of mycotoxins. In this work, Lactobacillus plantarum UFG 121, a strain with characterized broad antifungal activity, was an...

The effect of two fungicides, Caocobre and Ridomil on rhizosphere phenomenon of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L) seedlings has been studied at different stages of the development of the plant growing in pots. Fungal population in the rhizophere soil was generally higher than in the non-rhizosphere soil. The total number of fungal population in both the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere was highest on th...

In this work we report that volatiles emitted from wounded citrus peel play a major role in host recognition by Penicillium digitatum. Volatiles of various citrus cultivars had a pronounced stimulatory effect on germination and germ tube elongation of green mold pathogen. When exposed to volatiles from grapefruit, the percentage of P. digitatum spores germinated on minimal media was 10-fold hig...

A part of apples destined to juice production is generally of poor quality. Apples from cold storage or recently harvest (ground harvested or low quality apples) are stored under ambient conditions until they are processed. Since Penicillium expansum and P. griseofulvum are the principal fungal species isolated from stored apples in Brazil, the objective of this study was to investigate the abi...