Abstract
Streptomycetes produce a huge variety of bioactive metabolites, including antibiotics, enzyme inhibitors, pesticides and herbicides, which offer promise for applications in agriculture as plant protection and plant growth-promoting products. The aim of this report was to characterize the biological activities of strain Streptomyces sp. P-56, previously isolated from soil as an insecticidal bacterium. The metabolic complex was obtained from liquid culture of Streptomyces sp. P-56 as dried ethanol extract (DEE) and possessed insecticidal activity against vetch aphid (Medoura viciae Buckt.), cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glov.), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulz.), pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harr.) and crescent-marked lily aphid (Neomyzus circumflexus Buckt.), as well as two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae). Insecticidal activity was associated with production of nonactin, which was purified and identified using HPLC-MS and crystallographic techniques. Strain Streptomyces sp. P-56 also showed antibacterial and antifungal activity against various phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi (mostly for Clavibacfer michiganense, Alternaria solani and Sclerotinia libertiana), and possessed a set of plant growth-promoting traits, such as auxin production, ACC deaminase and phosphate solubilization. The possibilities for using this strain as a biopesticide producer and/or biocontrol and a plant growth-promoting microorganism are discussed.