scholarly journals Research Progress on Phytopathogenic Fungi and Their Role as Biocontrol Agents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Peng ◽  
Shi J. Li ◽  
Jun Yan ◽  
Yong Tang ◽  
Jian P. Cheng ◽  
...  

Phytopathogenic fungi decrease crop yield and quality and cause huge losses in agricultural production. To prevent the occurrence of crop diseases and insect pests, farmers have to use many synthetic chemical pesticides. The extensive use of these pesticides has resulted in a series of environmental and ecological problems, such as the increase in resistant weed populations, soil compaction, and water pollution, which seriously affect the sustainable development of agriculture. This review discusses the main advances in research on plant-pathogenic fungi in terms of their pathogenic factors such as cell wall-degrading enzymes, toxins, growth regulators, effector proteins, and fungal viruses, as well as their application as biocontrol agents for plant pests, diseases, and weeds. Finally, further studies on plant-pathogenic fungal resources with better biocontrol effects can help find new beneficial microbial resources that can control diseases.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Asad Ali Khan ◽  
Saba Najeeb ◽  
Shaukat Hussain ◽  
Bingyan Xie ◽  
Yan Li

Phytopathogenic fungi, causing significant economic and production losses, are becoming a serious threat to global food security. Due to an increase in fungal resistance and the hazardous effects of chemical fungicides to human and environmental health, scientists are now engaged to explore alternate non-chemical and ecofriendly management strategies. The use of biocontrol agents and their secondary metabolites (SMs) is one of the potential approaches used today. Trichoderma spp. are well known biocontrol agents used globally. Many Trichoderma species are the most prominent producers of SMs with antimicrobial activity against phytopathogenic fungi. Detailed information about these secondary metabolites, when grouped together, enhances the understanding of their efficient utilization and further exploration of new bioactive compounds for the management of plant pathogenic fungi. The current literature provides the information about SMs of Trichoderma spp. in a different context. In this review, we summarize and group different antifungal SMs of Trichoderma spp. against phytopathogenic fungi along with a comprehensive overview of some aspects related to their chemistry and biosynthesis. Moreover, a brief overview of the biosynthesis pathway, action mechanism, and different approaches for the analysis of SMs and the factors affecting the regulation of SMs in Trichoderma is also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Bilal Ökmen ◽  
Daniela Schwammbach ◽  
Guus Bakkeren ◽  
Ulla Neumann ◽  
Gunther Doehlemann

Obligate biotrophic fungal pathogens, such as Blumeria graminis and Puccinia graminis, are amongst the most devastating plant pathogens, causing dramatic yield losses in many economically important crops worldwide. However, a lack of reliable tools for the efficient genetic transformation has hampered studies into the molecular basis of their virulence or pathogenicity. In this study, we present the Ustilago hordei–barley pathosystem as a model to characterize effectors from different plant pathogenic fungi. We generate U. hordei solopathogenic strains, which form infectious filaments without the presence of a compatible mating partner. Solopathogenic strains are suitable for heterologous expression system for fungal virulence factors. A highly efficient Crispr/Cas9 gene editing system is made available for U. hordei. In addition, U. hordei infection structures during barley colonization are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy, showing that U. hordei forms intracellular infection structures sharing high similarity to haustoria formed by obligate rust and powdery mildew fungi. Thus, U. hordei has high potential as a fungal expression platform for functional studies of heterologous effector proteins in barley.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahaed Evangelista-Martínez ◽  
Erika Anahí Contreras-Leal ◽  
Luis Fernando Corona-Pedraza ◽  
Élida Gastélum-Martínez

Abstract Background Fungi are one of the microorganisms that cause most damage to fruits worldwide, affecting their quality and consumption. Chemical controls with pesticides are used to diminish postharvest losses of fruits. However, biological control with microorganisms or natural compounds is an increasing alternative to protect fruits and vegetables. In this study, the antifungal effect of Streptomyces sp. CACIS-1.5CA on phytopathogenic fungi that cause postharvest tropical fruit rot was investigated. Main body Antagonistic activity was evaluated in vitro by the dual confrontation over fungal isolates obtained from grape, mango, tomato, habanero pepper, papaya, sweet orange, and banana. The results showed that antagonistic activity of the isolate CACIS-1.5CA was similar to the commercial strain Streptomyces lydicus WYEC 108 against the pathogenic fungi Colletotrichum sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus sp., Botrytis sp., Rhizoctonia sp., and Rhizopus sp. with percentages ranging from 30 to 63%. The bioactive extract obtained from CACIS-1.5 showed a strong inhibition of fungal spore germination, with percentages ranging from 92 to 100%. Morphological effects as irregular membrane border, deformation, shrinkage, and collapsed conidia were observed on the conidia. Molecularly, the biosynthetic clusters of genes for the polyketide synthase (PKS) type I, PKS type II, and NRPS were detected in the genome of Streptomyces sp. CACIS-1.5CA. Conclusions This study presented a novel Streptomyces strain as a natural alternative to the use of synthetic fungicides or other commercial products having antagonistic microorganisms that were used in the postharvest control of phytopathogenic fungi affecting fruits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 8681
Author(s):  
Nicolò Orsoni ◽  
Francesca Degola ◽  
Luca Nerva ◽  
Franco Bisceglie ◽  
Giorgio Spadola ◽  
...  

As key players in biotic stress response of plants, jasmonic acid (JA) and its derivatives cover a specific and prominent role in pathogens-mediated signaling and hence are promising candidates for a sustainable management of phytopathogenic fungi. Recently, JA directed antimicrobial effects on plant pathogens has been suggested, supporting the theory of oxylipins as double gamers in plant-pathogen interaction. Based on these premises, six derivatives (dihydrojasmone and cis-jasmone, two thiosemicarbazonic derivatives and their corresponding complexes with copper) have been evaluated against 13 fungal species affecting various economically important herbaceous and woody crops, such as cereals, grapes and horticultural crops: Phaeoacremonium minimum, Neofusicoccum parvum, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Fomitiporia mediterranea, Fusarium poae, F. culmorum, F. graminearum, F. oxysporum f. sp. lactucae,F. sporotrichioides, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizoctonia solani,Sclerotinia spp. and Verticillium dahliae. The biological activity of these compounds was assessed in terms of growth inhibition and, for the two mycotoxigenic species A. flavus and F. sporotrichioides, also in terms of toxin containment. As expected, the inhibitory effect of molecules greatly varied amongst both genera and species; cis-jasmone thiosemicarbazone in particular has shown the wider range of effectiveness. However, our results show that thiosemicarbazones derivatives are more effective than the parent ketones in limiting fungal growth and mycotoxins production, supporting possible applications for the control of pathogenic fungi.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Gaba ◽  
Sunita Sharma ◽  
Harleen Kaur ◽  
Pardeep Kaur

Background: Thymol is a bioactive compound having many pharmacological activities. Objective: The present study was carried out to evaluate the fungi toxic effects of thymol and derivatives against phytopathogenic fungi of maize. Method: Thymol was derivatized to get formylated thymol, Mannich bases, and imine derivatives. All the synthesized thymol derivatives were characterized by their physical and spectral properties. Synthesized thymol derivatives were screened for their in vitro antifungal effects using poisoned food technique against three maize pathogenic fungi namely Fusarium moniliforme, Rhizoctonia solani and Dreschlera maydis. Results: Thymol and formylated thymol showed promising results for control of D. maydis with ED50 values less than standard carbendazim and comparable to standard mancozeb. These two compounds were further evaluated for control of D. maydis causative maydis leaf blight disease on maize plants grown in the field during the Kharif season (June to October) 2018. Conclusion: Thymol exhibited significant control of maydis leaf blight disease of maize and emerged as a potential alternative to synthetic fungicides used in cereal crops.


2009 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 7-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Howlett ◽  
G. Burch ◽  
U. Sarathchandra ◽  
N.L. Bell

Terrestrial slugs (Order Stylommatophora) can cause significant damage in cropping and pastoral systems Pathogenic microbes have long been shown to have potential as biocontrol agents for insect pests and a number of retail products are available but there is no equivalent product for molluscs A research program is underway to investigate the potential of micro organisms as slug biocontrol agents and this paper describes a bioassay methodology that can be used to assess the molluscicidal properties of bacterial isolates Its feasibility has been demonstrated in laboratory tests against pest slugs of the genus Deroceras Fourteen bacterial strains were screened by feeding them to the slugs in a mix based on oat bran a food that is highly palatable to these molluscs Mortality was assessed 3 and 4 days after introduction of the treated food Two of the bacterial strains tested resulted in significant mortality killing 100 slugs within 4 days


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro W Crous ◽  
Amy Y Rossman ◽  
Catherine Aime ◽  
Cavan Allen ◽  
Treena Burgess ◽  
...  

Names of phytopathogenic fungi and oomycetes are essential to communicate knowledge about species and their biology, control, and quarantine as well as for trade and research purposes. Many plant pathogenic fungi are pleomorphic, meaning that they produce different asexual (anamorph) and sexual (teleomorph) morphs in their lifecycles. Because of this, more than one name has been applied to different morphs of the same species, which has confused users of names. The onset of DNA technologies makes it possible to connect different morphs of the same species, resulting in a move to a more natural classification system for fungi, in which a single name for a genus as well as species can now be used. The move to a single nomenclature, as well as the advent of molecular phylogeny and the introduction of polythetic taxonomic approaches has been the main driving force for the re-classification of fungi, including pathogens. Nonetheless, finding the correct name for species remains challenging, but there is a series of steps or considerations that could greatly simplify this process, as outlined here. In addition to various online databases and resources, a list of accurate names is herewith provided of the accepted names of the most common genera and species of phytopathogenic fungi.


2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1581-1586
Author(s):  
Huifang Guo ◽  
Yufeng Qu

Abstract Compared with the numerous natural enemies against insect pests that have been identified, the commercialization of natural biological control resources remains very limited. To increase the use of natural enemies for biological control, determining how to improve the low efficacy, slow speed, and high cost of natural enemies is very important. Mediterranean species of The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodoidea), increasingly threatens many crops in China, and control primarily depends on chemical insecticides. Here, the effect of ethanol extracts from two plants, Agrimonia pilosa (Ledeb) (Rosales: Rosaceae) and Melia azedarach (Linn) (Meliaceae: Melia), on predominant natural enemies of B. tabaci was investigated using a leaf dipping or spraying method. The results showed that the ethanol extract of A. pilosa significantly improved the infectivity of the fungus Isaria javanica (Friedrichs & Bally) (Ascomycota: Hypocreales), and the mortality of whiteflies caused by the combination of fungus (105 spores/mL) with the extract of A. pilosa (2 mg/mL dried powder of A. pilosa containing 0.0942 mg/mL total polyphenols) was 81.6%, which was significantly higher than that caused by the fungus only. However, the ethanol extract of M. azedarach had no effect on fungus infectivity. Additionally, insecticide tolerance of the predator Pardosa pseudoannulata was also significantly improved by the extract of A. pilosa. The longevity of the parasitoid Encarsia formosa was not affected by the extracts. These findings indicate that the extract of A. pilosa played a dual role that included improving pathogenic fungi infectivity and insecticidal tolerance of a predator and thus could be a synergist in the biological control of B. tabaci.


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