Diversity, antibacterial and phytotoxic activities of culturable gut fungi from the insect Anax parthenope.
Bai X, Kong K, Liu M, Wang Y, Li W
Biocontrol
Weeds like barnyardgrass are becoming resistant to common herbicides, and these dragonfly gut fungi could lead to new, nature-derived weed killers and crop disease treatments that protect your vegetable garden without synthetic chemicals.
Scientists collected dragonflies and studied the fungi living in their digestive systems. They found that some of these fungi produce natural chemicals that can stop plant diseases caused by bacteria, and that two of those chemicals can kill aggressive weeds almost as effectively as store-bought weed killer. This opens the door to developing new biological tools for farming and gardening that come from nature rather than a chemical factory.
Key Findings
16 out of 53 fungal strains suppressed barnyardgrass growth by over 80%, and 11 strains suppressed velvetleaf by over 70%
Two isolated compounds from Alternaria sp. showed antibacterial activity against rice and kiwifruit crop pathogens, with inhibition zones up to 17.0 mm — comparable to the antibiotic gentamicin sulfate
At 100 µg/mL, compounds from the same fungus achieved 90–93% inhibition of two weed species, approaching the 100% inhibition rate of the synthetic herbicide 2,4-D
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers discovered that fungi living inside the gut of a dragonfly species can kill harmful plant bacteria and suppress aggressive weeds, with some fungal compounds matching the effectiveness of commercial antibiotics and herbicides.
Abstract Preview
Insect gut fungi, as specialized symbiotic microorganisms, represent a valuable source for the discovery of novel bioactive metabolites. This study aims to explore the diversity and bioactivity of ...
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