Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Agriculture - Department of Microbiology

The objectives of this thesis were to isolate, screen and select the most active fungal isolates from the rhizosphere of the medicinal plants Basil, (Ocimum basilicum), peppermint (Mentha piperita) and (Aloe vera) and evaluate their efficacy to introduce a promising solution in biological control applications. Also using agro-industrial wastes as solid support, carbon source in solid-state fermentation processes for the production of value-added compounds such as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. Among the collection of 104 fungal isolates, 59 of them were assessed for in vitro antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic fungi; Fusarium solani, Rhizocotina solani, Sclerotium rolfsii and Verticillium dahliae. The most active antagonistic isolates were identified using molecular tools based on 18S rDNA. The sequence data of Aspergillus pseudocaelatus and Trichoderma gamsii have been submitted to GenBank given the accession No. MG772677 and KX685665, respectively. The antagonistic mechanisms were evaluated using confrontation method and scanning electron microscopy. Chemical investigation of extracts of A. pseudocaelatus, T. gamsii strains and mixed culture of them was analyzed using GC/MS analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), preliminary metabolomic profile analysis by LC/MS. Biological investigation on the ethyl acetate extract of A. pseudocaelatus MG772677 and T. gamsii KX685665 strains was evaluated. The greenhouse application with the selected isolates on basil seedlings was performed

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