Determination and production of antimicrobial compounds by Aspergillus clavatonanicus strain MJ31, an endophytic fungus from Mirabilis jalapa L. using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and TD-GC-MS analysis

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 19;12(10):e0186234. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186234. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Endophytic fungi associated with medicinal plants are reported as potent producers of diverse classes of secondary metabolites. In the present study, an endophytic fungi, Aspergillus clavatonanicus strain MJ31, exhibiting significant antimicrobial activity was isolated from roots of Mirabilis jalapa L., was identified by sequencing three nuclear genes i.e. internal transcribed spacers ribosomal RNA (ITS rRNA), 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA) and translation elongation factor 1- alpha (EF 1α). Ethyl acetate extract of strain MJ31displayed significant antimicrobial potential against Bacillus subtilis, followed by Micrococccus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 0.078, 0.156 and 0.312 mg/ml respectively. In addition, the strain was evaluated for its ability to synthesize bioactive compounds by the amplification of polyketide synthase (PKS) and non ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes. Further, seven antibiotics (miconazole, ketoconazole, fluconazole, ampicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and rifampicin) were detected and quantified using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Additionally, thermal desorption-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) analysis of strain MJ31 showed the presence of 28 volatile compounds. This is the first report on A. clavatonanicus as an endophyte obtained from M. jalapa. We conclude that A. clavatonanicus strain MJ31 has prolific antimicrobial potential against both plant and human pathogens and can be exploited for the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds and could be an alternate source for the production of secondary metabolites.

Publication types

  • Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Infective Agents / metabolism*
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology
  • Aspergillus / classification
  • Aspergillus / metabolism*
  • Bacillus subtilis / drug effects
  • Candida / drug effects
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Micrococcus luteus / drug effects
  • Mirabilis / microbiology*
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / methods*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents

Grants and funding

BPS is thankful to University Grant Commission (UGC) for financial support as major research project (69/2014 F. No 10-11/12) and Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi (SERB/F/8195/2015-16). VKM is thankful to Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, for providing fellowship under DST INSPIRE fellowship (IF130374). Authors are also thankful to SAIF, CSIR-CDRI, which has been used in the present study. Authors are also thankful to the DBT, New Delhi, for establishment of DBT-BIF centre and DBT-State Biotech hub in the Department of Biotechnology, Mizoram University, which has been used for the present study.