A Study of the Antimicrobial Activity of Penicillium decumbens against Pseudomonas sp.

Gayen, Samarpita (2016) A Study of the Antimicrobial Activity of Penicillium decumbens against Pseudomonas sp. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

PDF (MS dissertation of Samarpita Gayen (11MS036)) MS_Thesis_Samarpita_11036_DBS.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (997kB)

Abstract

Pseudomonas sp is a Gram negative, motile, fastidious anaerobic bacteria, highly pathogenic to humans and plants and becoming increasingly drug resistant. Due to its metabolic versatility, it is able to survive in conditions normally unsuitable for other such pathogenic bacteria and is a major cause of concern for the society. This study aims to add to the existing artillery for combating diseases caused by this pathogen. We use Penicillium decumbens for studying its antagonistic properties against Pseudomonas sp. hoping to be able to extract useful metabolites having antibiotic properties. We show here that given certain growth conditions, it is possible for the fungus to have antibiotic activity against the bacteria. Under normal growth conditions, the fungus shows inhibitory activity against the growth of Pseudomonas sp. Zone inhibition studies show that this inhibitory action is comparable to the already available antibiotics. It has been shown that optimized growth conditions for the fungus results in secondary metabolite production having antibiotic property and the extracted secondary metabolites need to be further analyzed for further metabolic, chemical and toxicological studies.

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