The actinomycete strain Ao108 producing antifungal metabolites active against some plantpathogenic fungi was identified as
Actinomadura roseola, based on the analyses of morphologicaland physiological characteristics. The antibiotic Da2B that showed a strong antifungal activity wasisolated from the culture broth and mycelial mats of
A.
roseola strain Ao108 using variouschromatographic procedures. On the basis of
1H NMR,
13C NMR, and 2-D NMR correlation data,the antibiotic Da2B was confirmed to have the structure of an anthracycline antibiotic, daunomycin.In vitro antimicrobial spectrum tests showed that the antibiotic Da2B had substantial inhibitoryactivity (10
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
g mL
-1 of MICs) against mycelial growth of
Phytophthora capsici and
Rhizoctoniasolani. The antibiotic also showed antiyeast activity against
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but the growthof
Candida albicans was not affected. Antibacterial activity was found only against Gram-positivebacteria. In the further evaluation of in vivo efficacy, application of the antibiotic Da2B effectivelyinhibited the development of
Phytophthora blight in pepper plants. However, the control efficacy ofthe antibiotic against
Phytophthora infection was somewhat less than that of metalaxyl. Theantibiotic Da2B did not show any phytotoxicity on pepper plants even at 500
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g mL
-1.Keywords:
Actinomadura roseola; daunomycin; antifungal activity; plant disease control