Inhibition of Magnaporthe oryzae by Culture Filtrates of Fungi Isolated from Wild Mushrooms

Fungal strains isolated from the fruiting bodies of wild mushrooms were evaluated for fungicidal activity against Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of the rice blast disease. Fungal isolates (n = 105) were obtained from 46 samples of wild mushrooms. Infection behaviors of M. oryzae were assessed in the presence of culture filtrates from 90 fungal isolates, of which 20 inhibited spore germination. Heat-treated culture filtrates of these isolates were classified into 3 groups according to biological activity. Blast lesion formation by M. oryzae was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with culture filtrates from 4 fungal isolates. ITS region sequence analysis indicated that these isolates shared similarities with species of the genera Annulohypoxylon, Nigrospora, and Penicillium. Studies of symbiotic and parasitic fungi from wild mushrooms may yield potential control agents for plant diseases such as the rice blast disease.