Антимикробна активност на щамове Levilactobacillus brevis срещу Rhizopus stolonifer по ягоди.

In the current research, the potential of using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with antimicrobial effects on phytopathogenic fungi in strawberries was investigated. Lactic acid bacteria can be a natural antagonist of pathogenic fungi by releasing lactic acid, acetic acid, ethanol, and CO₂ in the medium. In Bulgaria, there are very limited data on the antifungal activity of LAB, isolated from spontaneously fermented doughs. For this purpose, the present study focuses on the characterization of eight strains isolated from doughs from the Rhodope region, in Southern Bulgaria. The new isolates G2, G6, G8, J5, K4, L3, L5, and Q1 were identified by species-specific PCR as Levilactobacillus brevis (L. brevis). The antimicrobial activity of different strains on the development of phytopathogenic fungi Rhizopus stolonifer was studied in vitro and in vivo experiments. As a result of in vivo tests, when the L. brevis G2 was used suppression of the development of soft rot diseases on strawberries caused by Rhizopus stolonifer has been observed. L. brevis G2 strain showed the best suppression of studied phytopathogen in vivo, suggesting its potential use as a biocontrol agent in strawberry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]