Xanthomonas albilineans
is a pathogen that causes leaf scald disease in sugarcane (
Saccharum officinarum
L.) This disease causes the death of seedlings and consequently results in economic losses for sugarcane growers. The objective of this work was to isolate a lactic acid bacterium with antimicrobial activity against
X. albilineans from sugarcane crops and to evaluate its antimicrobial activity and its lactic acid production kinetics, biomass yield, and substrate consumption in three different fermentation substrates. To isolate the lactic acid bacterium, samples were collected from different parts of infected and non-infected sugarcane plants of var. CC85-92.
Lactococcus lactis
ssp. lactis was isolated from the leaves of healthy crops, and showed
in vitro antimicrobial activity against the pathogen. Batch fermentations of this isolate (at 32 °C, agitation of 100 rpm, and pH 6) were performed using a commercial substrate (MRS), a commercial substrate supplemented with glucose (MRSG), and a substrate produced from agricultural crop residues (ACR). The highest antimicrobial activity was 5.83 mm in the ACR substrate after 6 h of fermentation. The maximum biomass production of 3.37 g L
-1 and the maximum lactic acid production of 12.1 g L
-1 were obtained in the MRSG substrate. The lactic acid production did not show any significant differences between the substrates. This lactic acid bacterium showed antimicrobial activity against
X. albilineans and is thus a biological alternative for the control of leaf scald disease in sugarcane.
