Search Results (110)

Rhododendron tomentosum is an aromatic plant belonging to the Ericaceae family, widely used for different applications, but still lacking in its molecular signature. This work provides a complete chemical and biological characterization of the hydroalcoholic extract of R. tomentosum tips of twigs. Combining untargeted metabolomic analysis with bioassays, a correlation between chemical composition and biological activity was defined. To this regard, liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) revealed a heterogeneous chemical composition, including flavonoids, such as quercetin, catechin, and their derivatives, as well as a first tentative identification of novel aesculin derivatives. Cell-based model experiments on stressed immortalized human keratinocytes demonstrated the antioxidant activity of the extract. Moreover, it exhibited significant antifungal and antibacterial effects against Trichoderma atroviride AGR2, Botrytis cinerea, and Clavibacter michiganensis, while promoting the growth of the beneficial bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. These findings highlight the rich diversity of bioactive molecules present in R. tomentosum hydroalcoholic extract, bridging its chemical composition to its functional properties. Overall, these results suggest its promising potential for applications in improving plant health, as well as in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural industries. Full article

In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism through which treatment with slight water loss combined with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) regulates gray mold development in Actinidia arguta, focusing on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phenylpropanoid metabolism. The results showed that water loss alone, MeJA alone, and their combination each reduced the incidence of disease, with the combined treatment showing the greatest efficacy. At the end of the storage period, the combined treatment enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), and 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL). It also increased the accumulation of defense-related substances (total phenol and lignin contents) and up-regulated AaPAL, Aa4CL, AaC4H, and AaC3′H gene expression. Furthermore, the combined treatment reduced the disease severity index from 60% to 16% and delayed onset by 2 d. In conclusion, slight water loss combined with MeJA treatment effectively suppressed gray mold. This effect may be attributed to activation of ROS metabolism, induction of phenylpropanoid metabolism, and up-regulation of related genes, which enhanced the resistance of the fruit to gray mold. Full article

Secondary metabolites produced by endophytic fungi living in medicinal plants are important resources in the field of biological control. In this study, Achaetomium sophora HY17, an endophytic fungus of Sophora alopecuroides, was taken as the research object and Botrytis cinerea HM1 as the target pathogen, and the response characteristics and antifungal mechanism of secondary metabolites produced during their interaction were explored through a co-culture system combined with metabonomic analysis. The key findings are as follows: (1) A. sophora HY17 produces many kinds of secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, among which 10 different metabolites, such as Sophoridine, Matrine, and Luteolin, are significantly up-regulated during the interaction process and are the core antifungal active substances; (2) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the phenylalanine metabolic pathway was significantly enriched during the interaction between the two fungi, and the activation of this pathway was the key regulatory mechanism underlying A. sophora HY17′s ability to cope with pathogen stress and synthesize antifungal metabolites. This study reports A. sophora HY17 as a new species, confirms its broad application prospects as a multifunctional and efficient biocontrol strain, and provides a core theoretical basis and target direction for mining antifungal substances from endophytic fungi to develop new biocontrol agents. Full article

Developing sustainable and eco-friendly approaches to plant propagation, development, and protection is a common goal for the scientific community. Plant cell culturing enables us to obtain plant clones and produce biomolecules under controlled conditions. The same principle can be applied to the harvesting of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These nanosized structures are key players in cell communication and stress response by carrying, protecting, and delivering important biomolecules. Raising interest in the scientific community, EVs have been successfully tested as nanocarriers for therapeutics and biotechnology. However, despite their potential, there remains a gap in research on scalable, reliable sources for EV production. Our goals were to optimize EV production and isolation from induced poplar callus cell lines (Populus tremula × P. alba) and load these with RNA to validate their functionality as nanocarriers. We were able to isolate 2.5 × 10¹⁰ EVs/g, highlighting the potential for these lines to be mass-produced. Furthermore, RNA loaded into EVs through electroporation was internalized into Botrytis cinerea hyphae, reassuring their potential in protecting and delivering cargo. Our findings contribute to EV characterization and demonstrate that RNA delivery through EV transport could be a safe and effective method for future EV-based technologies in plant protection. Full article

The use of biostimulants and corroborants is increasing worldwide. Laboratory and field assays show their effectiveness in improving the vegetative performance of plants and their tolerance to abiotic stresses. This study aims to evaluate the in vitro activity of a biostimulant, based on pine bark extract, against some fungal phytopathogens. This research was carried out at the Laboratory of Plant Pathology (SAAF Department, University of Palermo, Italy), employing the poison food technique. Artificial agar media (Potato Dextrose Agar, PDA), simple or added with different concentrations of the biostimulant, were used to evaluate the differences in diametral growth of the fungi Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus tubingensis, Botrytis cinerea, Coriolopsis gallica, Fomitiporia mediterranea, Fusarium oxysporum, Pleurostoma richardsiae and Pleurotus ostreatus. The biostimulant was shown to contain the growth of most of the tested fungi, with the greatest effectiveness on A. tubingensis, C. gallica, F. mediterranea and P. richardsiae at the highest concentration, moderate effects on A. niger, F. oxysporum and P. ostreatus and no effect on B. cinerea. The observed fungistatic effects suggest that this biostimulant could contribute to integrated disease management while supporting more sustainable crop protection practices. In vivo tests aimed at evaluating the efficacy of these products on the evolution of different diseases in the field are ongoing, and preliminary results are promising but they are part of future work. Full article

Ascorbate oxidases (AAOs) are key regulators of extracellular redox homeostasis and plant stress responses, but their roles in grapevine defense remain unclear. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis and characterization of the AAO gene family in grapevine Vitis amurensis, identifying 10 VaAAO genes that are unevenly distributed across six chromosomes, with notable clustering on chromosome 7. Promoter analysis revealed multiple phytohormone- and stress-responsive cis-elements (e.g., ARE, STRE, and TCA-element) and transcription factor binding sites (e.g., MYC/MYB, and WRKY), suggesting involvement in redox- and stress-related signaling pathways. Analysis of previously published transcriptomic data under Botrytis cinerea infection identified VaAAO7 as a key pathogen-responsive gene. VaAAO7 was rapidly induced by H₂O₂, and its transient ectopic overexpression in susceptible V. vinifera ‘Red Globe’ leaves significantly reduced lesion development. Together, these results demonstrate that VaAAO7 functions as a positive regulator of B. cinerea resistance and highlight its potential for genetic engineering to enhance systemic defense and develop disease-resistant grapevine cultivars. Full article

Gray mold disease, caused by Botrytis cinerea, severely impacts grape production worldwide. Although proanthocyanidins (PAs) contribute to fungal pathogen resistance, their role in grape defense against B. cinerea remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that VvMYBPA1, a key transcriptional regulator of PA biosynthesis, negatively modulates B. cinerea resistance in grape berries. While infection suppressed endogenous VvMYBPA1, its agroinfiltration-mediated transient overexpression in berries elevated susceptibility, paralleling reduced β-1,3-glucanase (BGL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities. Additionally, VvMYBPA1 overexpression elevated VvRBOHs’ expression and reduced peroxidase (POD) activity, resulting in excessive hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation and more cell death. Our results reveal that VvMYBPA1 negatively regulates B. cinerea resistance by disrupting antioxidant enzyme activity and ROS homeostasis, providing new insights into the interplay between PA biosynthesis and fungal defense mechanisms. Full article

Fungi, from saprophytes to pathogens, face predictable daily fluctuations in light, temperature, humidity, and nutrient availability. To cope, they have evolved an internal circadian clock that confers a major adaptive advantage. This review critically synthesizes current knowledge on the molecular architecture and physiological relevance of fungal circadian systems, moving beyond the canonical Neurospora crassa model to explore the broader phylogenetic diversity of timekeeping mechanisms. We examine the core transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL) centered on the FREQUENCY/WHITE COLLAR (FRQ/WCC) system and contrast it with divergent and non-canonical oscillators, including the metabolic rhythms of yeasts and the universally conserved peroxiredoxin (PRX) oxidation cycles. A central theme is the clock’s role in gating cellular defenses against oxidative, osmotic, and nutritional stress, enabling fungi to anticipate and withstand environmental insults through proactive regulation. We provide a detailed analysis of chrono-pathogenesis, where the circadian control of virulence factors aligns fungal attacks with windows of host vulnerability, with a focus on experimental evidence from pathogens like Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Magnaporthe oryzae. The review explores the downstream pathways—including transcriptional cascades, post-translational modifications, and epigenetic regulation—that translate temporal signals into physiological outputs such as developmental rhythms in conidiation and hyphal branching. Finally, we highlight critical knowledge gaps, particularly in understudied phyla like Basidiomycota, and discuss future research directions. This includes the exploration of novel clock architectures and the emerging, though speculative, hypothesis of “chrono-therapeutics”—interventions designed to disrupt fungal clocks—as a forward-looking concept for managing fungal infections. Full article

Beneficial microorganisms are emerging as promising alternatives to conventional pesticides for the biological control of plant diseases. This study evaluated the efficacy of a consortium composed of Pseudomonas yamanorum and Trichoderma longibrachiatum and compost against three grapevine pathogens, Botrytis cinerea, Erysiphe necator, and Plasmopara viticola, in three cultivars: Victoria, Superior Seedless, and Early Sweet. The microbial consortium (P. yamanorum + T. longibrachiatum) combined with compost (treatment T4) significantly outperformed the individual treatments, reducing disease severity indices (DSIs) to 7.72, 5.35, and 3.37% in Victoria; 5.70, 6.95, and 3.32% in Superior Seedless; and 4.98, 2.35, and 2.84% in Early Sweet. The treatment also enhanced physiological traits, such as the chlorophyll content, and defense responses, including ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), and catalase (CAT) enzyme activities. Biochemical markers, including the total protein content, phenolic content, and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, indicated an improved oxidative stress tolerance. The soil analysis confirmed an increased pH, organic matter, nitrogen content, and microbial biomass. T4 further reduced the fruit disease incidence and improved quality attributes, including the sugar content and size, while lowering nitrate accumulation. These findings highlight the synergistic benefits of combining a microbial consortium with compost as a sustainable strategy to promote grapevine health, productivity, and soil resilience. Full article

A series of novel hybrid uracil derivatives incorporating the natural alkaloids caffeine or gramine, linked via 1,2,3-triazole ring, were synthetized using click chemistry. The structures of the obtained compounds were confirmed by spectroscopic methods, including ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectrometry. The biological activity of hybrids was evaluated in vitro, including assessments of hemolytic activity, antioxidant potential, antifungal efficacy, and antibacterial activity. Additionally, molecular docking studies were conducted in silico for the most active antioxidant candidate. The results revealed that the hemocompatibility of the derivatives was structure-dependent. While caffeine-containing hybrids exhibited moderate-to-low cytoprotective activity under oxidative stress conditions, those incorporating gramine showed significantly higher potency. A plausible molecular mechanism underlying their cytoprotective activity is proposed. Several compounds also inhibited the growth of the plant pathogens Fusarium culmorum and Botrytis cinerea. The promising antioxidant and antifungal properties of selected uracil–alkaloid hybrids highlight their potential as multifunctional bioactive compounds for managing oxidative stress and controlling plant pathogens. Furthermore, the finding demonstrates the effectiveness of click chemistry as a versatile tool for the synthesis of bioactive heterocyclic compounds. Full article

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) is a globally significant vegetable crop that faces productivity challenges due to fungal and bacterial pathogens. This review highlights the potential of spectral imaging techniques, specifically multispectral and hyperspectral methods, in detecting biotic stress in cabbage, with a particular emphasis on pathogen-induced responses. These non-invasive approaches enable real-time assessment of plant physiological and biochemical changes, providing detailed spectral data to identify pathogens before visible symptoms appear. Hyperspectral imaging, with its high spectral resolution, allows for distinctions among different pathogens and the evaluation of stress responses, whereas multispectral imaging offers broad-scale monitoring suitable for field-level applications. The work synthesizes research in the existing literature while presenting novel experimental findings that validate and extend current knowledge. Significant spectral changes are reported in cabbage leaves infected by Alternaria brassicae and Botrytis cinerea. Early-stage detection was facilitated by alterations in flavonoids (400–450 nm), chlorophyll (430–450, 680–700 nm), carotenoids (470–520 nm), xanthophyll (520–600 nm), anthocyanin (550–560 nm, 700–710 nm, 780–790 nm), phenols/mycotoxins (700–750 nm, 718–722), water/pigments content (800–900 nm), and polyphenols/lignin (900–1000). The findings underscore the importance of targeting specific spectral ranges for early pathogen detection. By integrating these techniques with machine learning, this research demonstrates their applicability in advancing precision agriculture, improving disease management, and promoting sustainable production systems. Full article

The cap-binding protein complex (CBC), comprising Cbp20 and Cbp80, is crucial for gene expression, yet its role in the notorious crop pathogen Botrytis cinerea remains unclear. Immunoprecipitation coupled with LC-MS/MS demonstrated that BcCbp20 interacts with BcCbp80. Yeast two-hybrid, GST pull-down, and Split-luciferase complementation assays confirmed that the conserved RNA recognition motif (RRM, 54–127 aa) of BcCbp20 and the N-terminal MIF4G domain (1–370 aa, 1–577 aa) of BcCbp80 constitute the core interaction regions. Genetic transformation experiments revealed that BcCBP80 exerts a more dominant role than BcCBP20 in regulating hyphal morphology, growth rate, conidiophore development, and conidial yield. Furthermore, BcCBP20 and BcCBP80 differentially regulate sclerotium formation to maintain sclerotial quantity. Based on pathogenicity assays, BcCBP80 associated with infection cushion development, with this phenotypic alteration possibly being among the factors correlated with altered pathogenicity. However, the increased sensitivity of ΔBccbp20 to various stress factors may be the primary reason for the diminished pathogenicity. Taken together, these results indicate that BcCBP20 and BcCBP80 play important roles in multiple aspects of B. cinerea growth, development, stress response, and pathogenicity. Full article

Trichoderma harzianum, a prominent biocontrol microorganism, often exhibits restricted colonization efficiency in nutrient-poor soil, thus reducing its biocontrol effectiveness. This study investigated the impact of vitamin C industrial fermentation byproduct (residue after evaporation, RAE), which is recognized for enhancing plant growth and stress tolerance, on the colonization ability and anti-pathogenic fungi activity of T. harzianum through in vitro and pot experiments. In vitro experiments demonstrated that RAE and its main component (2-keto-L-gulonic acid, 2KGA) significantly enhanced biomass and spore production (41.44% and 158.46% on average) of two T. harzianum strains in an oligotrophic medium (1/5 PDA). In a more nutrient-limited medium (1/10 PDA), RAE significantly increased the inhibition rates of T. harzianum S against Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea, and Alternaria alternata by 6.12–7.77%. Pot experiments further revealed that, compared with T. harzianum application alone, the combined application of RAE and T. harzianum S, (1) significantly elevated T. harzianum S abundance by 23.77% while significantly reducing B. cinerea abundance by 33.78% in rhizosphere soil; (2) significantly improved the content of soil available phosphorus (147.63%), ammonium nitrogen (60.05%), and nitrate nitrogen (32.19%); and (3) significantly improved the superoxide dismutase activity (17.39%) and fresh weight of tomato plants (130.74%). Correlation analysis revealed that there were significant positive correlations between T. harzianum S abundances/plant biomass and RAE, and significantly negative correlations between B. cinerea abundance and T. harzianum S/plant biomass/peroxidase activity. Collectively, RAE effectively promoted the growth of T. harzianum and pathogen suppression ability, while improving soil fertility and tomato biomass. This study offers novel insights into RAE’s agricultural application for plant disease control while supporting the sustainable development of vitamin C production. Full article

Jatropha dioica Sessé (JD) is a plant from arid and semiarid zones of Mexico related to local therapeutic uses and possible use in food and agriculture as a control agent of pest organisms that helps to reduce impacts on the environment, human health and resistance by phytopathogens. In vitro bactericidal activity was evaluated with the well diffusion method in doses of 1000, 2500, 5000, 7500, 10,000 and 20,000 µg mL⁻¹, and fungistatic activity was evaluated with the agar dilution method (500, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 4000 µg mL⁻¹) in Pseudomonas syringae, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum using hydroalcoholic extracts of J. dioica root in a completely randomized design with five replications. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were recorded by the Folin–Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods. Ethanol and methanol extracts showed fungistatic activity on B. cinerea, inhibiting from 42.27 ± 1.09 to 46.68 ± 0.98 mg mL⁻¹, with an IC₅₀ of 5.04 mg mL⁻¹, with no differences by solvent type. In F. oxysporum, inhibition ranged from 14.77 ± 1.08 to 29.19 ± 0.89 mg mL⁻¹, and the methanol extract was more efficient, generating a stress response to the ethanol extract. The bactericidal activity on P. syringae recorded inhibition zones of 17.66 ± 0.33 and 16.66 ± 0.33 mg mL⁻¹, with ethanol being more efficient. The phenol content ranged from 8.92 ± 0.25 to 12.10 ± 0.34 mg EAG g⁻¹ and flavonoid content ranged from 20.49 ± 0.33 to 28.21 ± 0.73 mg QE g⁻¹ of sample dry weight. The results highlight the biological activity of J. dioica as an alternative to biopesticides that minimize agrochemical applications and generate pathogen resistance. These advances contribute to the revaluation and conservation of the species. Full article

Climate changes increase environmental stress pressure, limiting the yields of crops, e.g., strawberries. The green transformation introduced in the European Union, eliminating the use of chemical plant protection agents, requires the development of a technology that will simultaneously mitigate stresses and increase plant yields. The basis of this type of technology may be the targeted application of stabilized orthosilicic acid. The validation of this silicon-based technology was carried out through the pot cultivation of strawberries cv. ‘Falco’ in controlled conditions, compatible with their production. The experiment consisted of the foliar and intra-root (A) application of stabilized orthosilicic acid at concentrations of 0, 240, and 360 g Si·ha⁻¹ (B). A significant increase in the total and marketable yield, the weight of single fruits, and the number of fruits in the silicon-treated variants was noted in this study. The intra-root application of silicon had a more potent effect on the yield performance than foliar feeding. The intra-root application of the tested silicon doses significantly reduced the occurrence of gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) during the fruit harvest period. The application of the tested silicon doses in strawberry cultivation exerted a positive effect on the post-harvest shelf life of the fruits. Higher levels of Lascorbic acid, nitrates (V), and TSS were determined in strawberry fruits treated with stabilized orthosilicic acid. The leaves of plants treated with stabilized orthosilicic acid had lower contents of nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and boron and higher levels of potassium and copper. Full article