Agricultural Sciences, 2017, 8, 1-20 http://www.scirp.org/journal/as ISSN Online: 2156-8561 ISSN Print: 2156-8553 DOI: 10.4236/as.2017.81001 December 30, 2016 Bacillus subtilis Strains with Antifungal Activity against the Phytopathogenic Fungi Ayslu Mirkasimovna Mardanova * , Guzel Fanisovna Hadieva, Marat Tafkilevich Lutfullin, Irina Valer’evna Khilyas, Leyla Farvazovna Minnullina, Adelya Gadelevna Gilyazeva, Lidiya Mikhailovna Bogomolnaya, Margarita Rashidovna Sharipova Departments of Microbiology, Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia Abstract Bacillus strains isolated from the rhizosphere soil of potato roots were eva- luated for the potential antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens in vitro and in vivo. Two bacterial isolates were identified as new Bacillus subtilis strains by 16S rRNA and GyrB gene sequencing and were designated GM2 and GM5, respectively. Strains were characterized by their ability to inhibit growth of a number of phytopathogenic fungi. It was shown that GM5 strain inhibited growth of phytopathogenic fungi more effectively than GM2 strain. Both strains were capable of producing a number of hydrolytic enzymes as well as antimicrobial metabolites (ammonia and HCN). In addition, GM2 strain also produced siderophores. Four genes encoding antimicrobial pep- tides were identified in the genome of GM2 strain: ituC, bmyB, bacA and srfA. Genome of GM5 contained two genes encoding for antimicrobial pep- tides, srfA and fenD. Purified lipopeptide fraction from GM5 but not from GM2 strain was able to control Fusarium solani spread in the plate assay. Furthermore, Bacillus subtilis strain GM2 promoted growth of wheat but only GM5 strain was able to protect wheat seedlings from Fusarium oxysporum infection. Keywords Bacillus subtilis, Fusarium, Phytopathogenic Fungi, Antagonistic Activity, Antimicrobial Peptides 1. Introduction Biological control is an environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pesti- cides and it is an attractive method protecting the plants from pathogens, be- cause the wide usage of chemicals has a negative impact on the environment and How to cite this paper: Mardanova, A.M., Hadieva, G.F., Lutfullin, M.T., Khilyas, I.V., Minnullina, L.F., Gilyazeva, A.G., Bogo- molnaya, L.M. and Sharipova, M.R. (2017) Bacillus subtilis Strains with Antifungal Activity against the Phytopathogenic Fungi. Agricultural Sciences, 8, 1-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/as.2017.81001 Received: November 16, 2016 Accepted: December 27, 2016 Published: December 30, 2016 Copyright © 2017 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access