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Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents
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Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogenesis and Disease Control".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 21614

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Aidang Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Interests: plant protection; synthesis and structural optimization of natural pesticide; design, synthesis and SAR of green chemical pesticide; organic chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Phytopathogenic fungi (e.g., Magnaporthe oryzae, Botrytis cinerea, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Blumeria graminis, Mycosphaerella graminicola, Ustilago maydis, etc.) are the key causative agents among phytopathogens for devastating crop plant epidemics, besides causing persistent and substantial losses in crop yield annually. Since 1940, chemical and synthetic fungicides have typically been used to control phytopathogenic fungi. However, the emergence of resistant strains of fungal phytopathogens and environmental harm caused by traditional fungicides for their high toxicity and environmental persistence make plant fungal diseases increasingly challenging to treat. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop and use low-toxicity, effective, and environmentally friendly new green antifungal agents.

This Special Issue, entitled “Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents”, aims to highlight current research on safe and effective fungicides against plant fungal diseases—especially on lead compound discovery, studies of fungicidal mechanism, and the formulation of fungicides. Experts specifically from the fields of plant protection, natural products, and advanced materials are invited to contribute their newest findings in the form of research articles, communications, or review articles, to provide a common platform for scientific communication, to deliver reliable information and to advance our understanding of the basis of new green antifungal agents against phytopathogenic fungi.

Dr. Aidang Lu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • plant protection
  • phytopathogenic fungi
  • fungicides
  • lead compound discovery
  • fungicidal mechanism
  • formulation of fungicides

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5508 KiB  
Article
Inhibitory Effects and Mechanisms of Perilla Essential Oil and Perillaldehyde against Chestnut Pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea
by Qi Zeng, Lu Wang, Sha Long, Wanrong Dong, Yaoyao Li, Yuxin Chen and Gao Zhou
J. Fungi 2024, 10(8), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10080526 - 28 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1603
Abstract
Botryosphaeria dothidea, a notorious plant pathogen, is responsible for causing chestnut rot during postharvest storage. This research aimed to assess the antifungal properties of perilla essential oil (PEO) and perillaldehyde (PAE) against B. dothidea. PEO’s and PAE’s inhibitory effects on B. [...] Read more.
Botryosphaeria dothidea, a notorious plant pathogen, is responsible for causing chestnut rot during postharvest storage. This research aimed to assess the antifungal properties of perilla essential oil (PEO) and perillaldehyde (PAE) against B. dothidea. PEO’s and PAE’s inhibitory effects on B. dothidea were investigated using an agar dilution method, a fumigation method, and an in vivo assay in chestnuts and shell buckets. Based on the results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, it was confirmed that the main component of PEO was elemicin. The antifungal mechanism of PEO and PAE against B. dothidea was investigated by conducting staining experiments of the fungal cell wall and cell membrane. PEO and PAE strongly inhibit the mycelial growth of B. dothidea in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory mechanism is mainly related to the destruction of the integrity of the fungal cell wall and plasma membrane. Notably, PEO retains its antifungal efficacy against B. dothidea in chestnuts, effectively prolonging their storage life. These findings indicate that PEO and PAE are nontoxic, eco-friendly botanical fungicides, holding promise for controlling postharvest chestnut rot. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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16 pages, 1899 KiB  
Article
Design, Synthesis, and Antifungal/Anti-Oomycete Activities of Novel 1,2,4-Triazole Derivatives Containing Carboxamide Fragments
by Jiali Wang, Haoran Shi and Aidang Lu
J. Fungi 2024, 10(2), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10020160 - 19 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2116
Abstract
Plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi or oomycetes seriously affect crop growth and the quality and yield of products. A series of novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives containing carboxamide fragments based on amide fragments widely used in fungicides and the commercialized mefentrifluconazole were designed and [...] Read more.
Plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi or oomycetes seriously affect crop growth and the quality and yield of products. A series of novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives containing carboxamide fragments based on amide fragments widely used in fungicides and the commercialized mefentrifluconazole were designed and synthesized. Their antifungal activities were evaluated against seven kinds of phytopathogenic fungi/oomycete. Results showed that most compounds had similar or better antifungal activities compared to mefentrifluconazole’s inhibitory activity against Physalospora piricola, especially compound 6h (92%), which possessed outstanding activity. Compound 6h (EC50 = 13.095 μg/mL) showed a better effect than that of mefentrifluconazole (EC50 = 39.516 μg/mL). Compound 5j (90%) displayed outstanding anti-oomycete activity against Phytophthora capsici, with an EC50 value of 17.362 μg/mL, far superior to that of mefentrifluconazole (EC50 = 75.433 μg/mL). The result of molecular docking showed that compounds 5j and 6h possessed a stronger affinity for 14α-demethylase (CYP51). This study provides a new approach to expanding the fungicidal spectrum of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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20 pages, 3073 KiB  
Article
Development and Validation of a HTS Platform for the Discovery of New Antifungal Agents against Four Relevant Fungal Phytopathogens
by Rachel Serrano, Víctor González-Menéndez, José R. Tormo and Olga Genilloud
J. Fungi 2023, 9(9), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9090883 - 28 Aug 2023
Viewed by 3320
Abstract
Fungal phytopathogens are the major agents responsible for causing severe damage to and losses in agricultural crops worldwide. Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium proliferatum, and Magnaporthe grisea are included in the top ten fungal phytopathogens that impose important plant diseases [...] Read more.
Fungal phytopathogens are the major agents responsible for causing severe damage to and losses in agricultural crops worldwide. Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium proliferatum, and Magnaporthe grisea are included in the top ten fungal phytopathogens that impose important plant diseases on a broad range of crops. Microbial natural products can be an attractive alternative for the biological control of phytopathogens. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a High-throughput Screening (HTS) platform to evaluate the antifungal potential of chemicals and natural products against these four important plant pathogens. Several experiments were performed to establish the optimal assay conditions that provide the best reproducibility and robustness. For this purpose, we have evaluated two media formulations (SDB and RPMI-1640), several inoculum concentrations (1 × 106, 5 × 105 and 5 × 106 conidia/mL), the germination curves for each strain, each strain’s tolerance to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and the Dose Response Curves (DRC) of the antifungal control (Amphotericin B). The assays were performed in 96-well plate format, where absorbance at 620 nm was measured before and after incubation to evaluate growth inhibition, and fluorescence intensity at 570 nm excitation and 615 nm emission was monitored after resazurin addition for cell viability evaluation. Quality control parameters (RZ’ Factors and Signal to Background (S/B) ratios) were determined for each assay batch. The assay conditions were finally validated by titrating 40 known relevant antifungal agents and testing 2400 microbial natural product extracts from the MEDINA Library through both HTS agar-based and HTS microdilution-based set-ups on the four phytopathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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22 pages, 4404 KiB  
Article
Suppression of Fusarium Wilt in Watermelon by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DHA55 through Extracellular Production of Antifungal Lipopeptides
by Dhabyan Mutar Kareem Al-Mutar, Noor Salih Abduljaleel Alzawar, Muhammad Noman, Azizullah, Dayong Li and Fengming Song
J. Fungi 2023, 9(3), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9030336 - 9 Mar 2023
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4184
Abstract
Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum is one of the most devastating fungal diseases affecting watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.). The present study aimed to identify potent antagonistic bacterial strains with substantial antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum [...] Read more.
Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum is one of the most devastating fungal diseases affecting watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.). The present study aimed to identify potent antagonistic bacterial strains with substantial antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum and to explore their potential for biocontrol of Fusarium wilt in watermelon. Out of 77 isolates from watermelon rhizosphere, six bacterial strains—namely, DHA4, DHA6, DHA10, DHA12, DHA41, and DHA55—exhibited significant antifungal activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum, as well as other phytopathogenic fungi, including Didymella bryoniae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium graminearum, and Rhizoctonia solani. These Gram-positive, rod-shaped, antagonistic bacterial strains were able to produce exo-enzymes (e.g., catalase, protease, and cellulase), siderophore, and indole-3-acetic acid and had the ability to solubilize phosphate. In greenhouse experiments, these antagonistic bacterial strains not only promoted plant growth but also suppressed Fusarium wilt in watermelon. Among these strains, DHA55 was the most effective, achieving the highest disease suppression of 74.9%. Strain DHA55 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens based on physiological, biochemical, and molecular characterization. B. amyloliquefaciens DHA55 produced various antifungal lipopeptides, including iturin, surfactin, and fengycin, that showed significant antifungal activities against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum. Microscopic observations revealed that B. amyloliquefaciens DHA55 exhibited an inhibitory effect against F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum on the root surface of watermelon plants. These results demonstrate that B. amyloliquefaciens DHA55 can effectively promote plant growth and suppress the development of watermelon Fusarium wilt, providing a promising agent for the biocontrol of Fusarium wilt in watermelon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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19 pages, 2993 KiB  
Article
Seaweed Extracts to Control Postharvest Phytopathogenic Fungi in Rocha Pear
by Eloísa Toledo, Carina Félix, Tânia F. L. Vicente, Ana Augusto, Rafael Félix, Bernardo Toledo, Joana Silva, Carina Trindade, Délio Raimundo and Marco F. L. Lemos
J. Fungi 2023, 9(2), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9020269 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4083
Abstract
Fungal infections cause losses amounting to between 20 and 25% of the fruit industry’s total outcome, with an escalating impact on agriculture in the last decades. As seaweeds have long demonstrated relevant antimicrobial properties against a wide variety of microorganisms, extracts from Asparagopsis [...] Read more.
Fungal infections cause losses amounting to between 20 and 25% of the fruit industry’s total outcome, with an escalating impact on agriculture in the last decades. As seaweeds have long demonstrated relevant antimicrobial properties against a wide variety of microorganisms, extracts from Asparagopsis armata, Codium sp., Fucus vesiculosus, and Sargassum muticum were used to find sustainable, ecofriendly, and safe solutions against Rocha pear postharvest fungal infections. Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Penicillium expansum mycelial growth and spore germination inhibition activities were tested in vitro with five different extracts of each seaweed (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, aqueous, ethanolic, and hydroethanolic). An in vivo assay was then performed using the aqueous extracts against B. cinerea and F. oxysporum in Rocha pear. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanolic extracts from A. armata showed the best in vitro inhibitory activity against B. cinerea, F. oxysporum, and P. expansum, and promising in vivo results against B. cinerea using S. muticum aqueous extract were also found. The present work highlights the contribution of seaweeds to tackle agricultural problems, namely postharvest phytopathogenic fungal diseases, contributing to a greener and more sustainable bioeconomy from the sea to the farm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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Review

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19 pages, 1902 KiB  
Review
Lysinibacilli: A Biological Factories Intended for Bio-Insecticidal, Bio-Control, and Bioremediation Activities
by Qazi Mohammad Sajid Jamal and Varish Ahmad
J. Fungi 2022, 8(12), 1288; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8121288 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5139
Abstract
Microbes are ubiquitous in the biosphere, and their therapeutic and ecological potential is not much more explored and still needs to be explored more. The bacilli are a heterogeneous group of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Lysinibacillus are dominantly found as motile, spore-forming, Gram-positive [...] Read more.
Microbes are ubiquitous in the biosphere, and their therapeutic and ecological potential is not much more explored and still needs to be explored more. The bacilli are a heterogeneous group of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Lysinibacillus are dominantly found as motile, spore-forming, Gram-positive bacilli belonging to phylum Firmicutes and the family Bacillaceae. Lysinibacillus species initially came into light due to their insecticidal and larvicidal properties. Bacillus thuringiensis, a well-known insecticidal Lysinibacillus, can control many insect vectors, including a malarial vector and another, a Plasmodium vector that transmits infectious microbes in humans. Now its potential in the environment as a piece of green machinery for remediation of heavy metal is used. Moreover, some species of Lysinibacillus have antimicrobial potential due to the bacteriocin, peptide antibiotics, and other therapeutic molecules. Thus, this review will explore the biological disease control abilities, food preservative, therapeutic, plant growth-promoting, bioremediation, and entomopathogenic potentials of the genus Lysinibacillus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Protection: New Green Antifungal Agents)
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