Verlamelin, an Antifungal Compound Produced by a Mycoparasite, Acremonium strictum

A strain of Acremonium strictum, the mycoparasite of Botrytis cinerea, showed strong antifungal activities both in vitro and in vivo against several phytopathogenic fungi. An antifungal substance was purified from the liquid cultures of A. strictum and identified as verlamelin by instrumental analyses. Verlamelin exhibited in vitro antifungal activity against some phytopathogenic fungi such as Magnaporthe grisea, Bipolaris maydis, and Botrytis cinerea, while it was net active against all the bacteria tested. In viva, verlamelin exhibited strong protective and curative activities, particularly against barley powdery mildew. At 100 μg/ml, it inhibited the development of barley powdery mildew with control values of more than 90% in 7-day protective and 2-day curative applications. This is the first report on the production of verlamelin by Acremonium species.