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Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity

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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 March 2022) | Viewed by 20937

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Milena Cotorás

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Guest Editor

Department of Biology, Faculty of Chemistry and Biology; Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Estación Central, 9170020 Santiago, Chile
Interests: modes of action of natural or hemi synthetic compounds with antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Botrytis cinerea is a widely studied facultative phytopathogenic fungus. In 2012, this fungus was classified by the scientific community as one of the most important plant pathogen fungi. It infects more than 1000 plant species, mainly dicotyledonous. It infects plant aerial parts such as flowers, leaves and fruits; however, it is more aggressive on senescent tissues, causing great economic losses. The most important damage in the crops occurs postharvest, during transit or storage. There are numerous studies about the mechanism of the molecular pathogenesis of B. cinerea. However, more studies allowing a better understanding of how B. cinerea is able to infect its host are necessary.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the importance of the knowledge about the strategies used by B. cinerea to establish itself as a pathogen or an endophyte in its host and how the knowledge about the infection mechanism can be used to design new control strategies against this fungus.

Prof. Dr. Milena Cotorás
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Botrytis cinerea
infection mechanism
control strategies
hemisynthetic compounds with antifungal activity

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 4014 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Nitric Oxide Metabolism Affects Germination in Botrytis cinerea and Is Connected to Nitrate Assimilation

by Francisco Anta-Fernández, Daniela Santander-Gordón, Sioly Becerra, Rodrigo Santamaría, José María Díaz-Mínguez and Ernesto Pérez Benito

J. Fungi 2022, 8(7), 699; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8070699 - 1 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2276

Abstract

Nitric oxide regulates numerous physiological processes in species from all taxonomic groups. Here, its role in the early developmental stages of the fungal necrotroph Botrytis cinerea was investigated. Pharmacological analysis demonstrated that NO modulated germination, germ tube elongation and nuclear division rate. Experimental evidence indicates that exogenous NO exerts an immediate but transitory negative effect, slowing down germination-associated processes, and that this effect is largely dependent on the flavohemoglobin BCFHG1. The fungus exhibited a “biphasic response” to NO, being more sensitive to low and high concentrations than to intermediate levels of the NO donor. Global gene expression analysis in the wild-type and ΔBcfhg1 strains indicated a situation of strong nitrosative and oxidative stress determined by exogenous NO, which was much more intense in the mutant strain, that the cells tried to alleviate by upregulating several defense mechanisms, including the simultaneous upregulation of the genes encoding the flavohemoglobin BCFHG1, a nitronate monooxygenase (NMO) and a cyanide hydratase. Genetic evidence suggests the coordinated expression of Bcfhg1 and the NMO coding gene, both adjacent and divergently arranged, in response to NO. Nitrate assimilation genes were upregulated upon exposure to NO, and BCFHG1 appeared to be the main enzymatic system involved in the generation of the signal triggering their induction. Comparative expression analysis also showed the influence of NO on other cellular processes, such as mitochondrial respiration or primary and secondary metabolism, whose response could have been mediated by NmrA-like domain proteins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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14 pages, 2333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Baccharis linearis and Echinopsis chiloensis with Antifungal Activity against Botrytis cinerea

by Paulo Castro, Rodolfo Parada, Carlos Corrial, Leonora Mendoza and Milena Cotoras

J. Fungi 2022, 8(2), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof8020197 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2776

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most important phytopathogens in agriculture worldwide, infecting economically important crops. The main control of this fungus is by synthetic fungicides, causing the selection of resistant isolates. Compounds produced by endophytic fungi have been shown to have antifungal activity against this pathogen and can be used as an alternative to synthetic fungicides. The aim of this work was to isolate endophytic fungi from Chilean foothills in the Metropolitan Region. Ten fungi were isolated from Echinopsis chiloensis and Baccharis linearis, however, only two isolates inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea by antibiosis and were identified as Epicoccum sp. and Pleosporales sp. Extracts at 200 mg L⁻¹ from Epicoccum sp. and Pleosporales sp. showed antifungal activity against B. cinerea of 54.6 and 44.6% respectively. Active compounds in the Epicoccum sp. extracts were mainly alkaloids and phenolic compounds; meanwhile, in the Pleosporales sp. extracts, terpenes and/or saponins were responsible for the antifungal activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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17 pages, 2328 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis, Fungitoxic Activity against Botrytis cinerea and Phytotoxicity of Alkoxyclovanols and Alkoxyisocaryolanols

by Adriana de Almeida Pinto Bracarense, Jociani Ascari, Giovanni Gontijo de Souza, Thays Silva Oliveira, Antonio Ruano-González, Ana A. Pinto, Maria Amélia Diamantino Boaventura, Jacqueline Aparecida Takahashi, Isidro G. Collado, Rosa Durán-Patrón and Antonio J. Macías-Sánchez

J. Fungi 2021, 7(12), 1079; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7121079 - 15 Dec 2021

Viewed by 1860

Abstract

Clovane and isocaryolane derivatives have been proven to show several levels of activity against the phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Both classes of sesquiterpenes are reminiscent of biosynthetic intermediates of botrydial, a virulence factor of B. cinerea. Further development of both classes of antifungal agent requires exploration of the structure–activity relationships for the antifungal effects on B. cinerea and phytotoxic effects on a model crop. In this paper, we report on the preparation of a series of alkoxy-clovane and -isocaryolane derivatives, some of them described here for the first time (2b, 2d, 2f–2h, and 4c–4e); the evaluation of their antifungal properties against B. cinerea, and their phytotoxic activites on the germination of seeds and the growth of radicles and shoots of Lactuca sativa (lettuce). Both classes of compound show a correlation of antifungal activity with the nature of side chains, with the best activity against B. cinerea for 2d, 2h, 4c and 4d. In general terms, while 2-alkoxyclovan-9-ols (2a–2e) exert a general phytotoxic effect, this is not the case for 2-arylalkoxyclovan-9-ols (2f–2i) and 8-alkoxyisocaryolan-9-ols (4a–4d), where stimulating effects would make them suitable candidates for application to plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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13 pages, 1966 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of the Fungitoxic Activity on Botrytis cinerea of N-phenyl-driman-9-carboxamides

by Ricardo Melo, Verónica Armstrong, Freddy Navarro, Paulo Castro, Leonora Mendoza and Milena Cotoras

J. Fungi 2021, 7(11), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7110902 - 26 Oct 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1612

Abstract

A total of 12 compounds were synthesized from the natural sesquiterpene (-) drimenol (compounds 4 to 15). The synthesized compounds corresponded to N-phenyl-driman-9-carboxamide derivatives, similar to some fungicides that inhibit the electron-transport chain. Their structures were characterized and confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Compounds 5 to 15 corresponded to novel compounds. The effect of the compounds on the mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea was evaluated. Methoxylated and chlorinated compounds in the aromatic ring (compounds 6, 7, 12, and 13) exhibited the highest antifungal activity with IC₅₀ values between 0.20 and 0.26 mM. On the other hand, the effect on conidial germination of B. cinerea of one methoxylated compound (6) and one chlorinated compound (7) was analyzed, and no inhibition was observed. Additionally, compound 7 decreased 36% the rate of oxygen consumption by germinating conidia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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18 pages, 5142 KiB

Open AccessArticle

DNA Methyltransferases Regulate Pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea to Horticultural Crops

by Zhanquan Zhang, Chang He, Yong Chen, Boqiang Li and Shiping Tian

J. Fungi 2021, 7(8), 659; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7080659 - 14 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2576

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is one of the most destructive fungal pathogens that cause gray mold rot in horticultural products, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers, leading to serious economic losses. B. cinerea is difficult to control because it has strong stress resistance and complex infection modes. The pathogenic mechanisms of B. cinerea have been revealed at multiple levels, but little is known at the epigenetic level. In this study, we first revealed the important role of DNA methyltransferases in regulating the development and pathogenicity of B. cinerea. We showed that two DNA methyltransferases, BcDIM2 and BcRID2, showed a strong synergistic effect in regulating the pathogenicity of B. cinerea. The double knockout mutant △Bcdim2rid2 showed slower mycelial growth, lower spore germination, attenuated oxidative tolerance, and complete pathogenicity loss on various hosts, which is related to the reduced expression of virulence-related genes in △Bcdim2rid2 and the induced resistance of the host. Although B. cinerea has multiple DNA methyltransferases, the global methylation level is very low, and few 5mC sites can be detected by BS-seq. These results first revealed the important role and the action mode of DNA methyltransferases in B. cinerea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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Review

Jump to: Research

26 pages, 965 KiB

Open AccessReview

Mechanisms of Action of Microbial Biocontrol Agents against Botrytis cinerea

by Rocío Roca-Couso, José David Flores-Félix and Raúl Rivas

J. Fungi 2021, 7(12), 1045; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7121045 - 6 Dec 2021

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 8751

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is a phytopathogenic fungus responsible for economic losses from USD 10 to 100 billion worldwide. It affects more than 1400 plant species, thus becoming one of the main threats to the agriculture systems. The application of fungicides has for years been an efficient way to control this disease. However, fungicides have negative environmental consequences that have changed popular opinion and clarified the need for more sustainable solutions. Biopesticides are products formulated based on microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) with antifungal activity through various mechanisms. This review gathers the most important mechanisms of antifungal activities and the microorganisms that possess them. Among the different modes of action, there are included the production of diffusible molecules, both antimicrobial molecules and siderophores; production of volatile organic compounds; production of hydrolytic enzymes; and other mechanisms, such as the competition and induction of systemic resistance, triggering an interaction at different levels and inhibition based on complex systems for the production of molecules and regulation of crop biology. Such a variety of mechanisms results in a powerful weapon against B. cinerea; some of them have been tested and are already used in the agricultural production with satisfactory results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infection Mechanisms of Botrytis cinerea and Compounds with Antifungal Activity)

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