Isolation and Characterization of a Bacterium Exhibiting Excellent Antifungal Potential

The current study reports isolation and characterization of a bacterium, named SCPS1, from the garden soil of a college campus from University of Delhi in New Delhi, India. Garden soil was used for bacterial isolation using standard isolation procedures of serial dilution and plating. Out of several 100 isolates, 6 morphologically distinct colonies were picked up and screened for antifungal potential. SCPS1 showed excellent activity against Aspergillus, Mucor and Rhizopus. It was selected for further study and characterization was done using biochemical tests and 16S rRNA based molecular approach. Gram positive rods with capsules were observed microscopically and SCPS1 was found to be a member of Bacillus group, Bacillus amylo liquifaciens, upon phylogenetic analysis.