Abstract
Oomycetes, represented by Phytophthora, are seriously harmful to agricultural production, resulting in a decline in grain quality and agricultural products and causing great economic losses. Integrated management of oomycete diseases is becoming more challenging, and plant derivatives represent effective alternatives to synthetic chemicals as novel crop protection solutions. Biologically active secondary metabolites are rapidly synthesized and released by plants in response to biotic stress caused by herbivores or insects, as well as pathogens. In this study, we identified groups of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from soybean plants inoculated with Phytophthora sojae, the causal agent of soybean root rot. 4-Ethylphenol was present among the identified VOCs and was induced in the incompatible interaction between the plants and the pathogen. 4-Ethylphenol inhibited the growth of P. sojae and Phytophthora nicotianae and had toxicity to sporangia formation and zoospore germination by destroying the pathogen cell membrane; it had a good control effect on soybean root rot and tobacco black shank in the safe concentration range. Furthermore, 4-Ethylphenol had a potent antifungal activity against three soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium graminearum, and Gaeumannomyces graminis var tritici, and four forma specialis of Fusarium oxysporum, which suggest a potential to be an eco-friendly biological control agent.
Highlights
Oomycetes, encompassing Phytophthora, Albugo, Pythium, and a group of downy mildews that cause plant epidemics, have a negative impact on natural and farm ecosystems due to their strong pathogenicity and infectivity (Yutin et al, 2008; Kamoun et al, 2015)
We investigated the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced in the leaves of susceptible soybean plants (Williams), lacking resistance genes to P. sojae (Rps), and resistant soybean plants (Williams82), containing the Rps1k resistance gene, by GC—–MS
The radial diameter of P. sojae and P. nicotianae colonies grown on V8 medium supplemented with different concentrations of 4-Ethylphenol was determined through naked eye observation; the toxicity of 4-Ethylphenol to Phytophthora spp. was observed and calculated (Figure 1A)
Summary
Oomycetes, encompassing Phytophthora, Albugo, Pythium, and a group of downy mildews that cause plant epidemics, have a negative impact on natural and farm ecosystems due to their strong pathogenicity and infectivity (Yutin et al, 2008; Kamoun et al, 2015). Phytophthora nicotianae is a pathogen distributed worldwide, and it causes tobacco black shank and is responsible for many foliar and fruit diseases (Fang et al, 2016). Oomycetes are phylogenetically different from fungi, forming an independent group, and are resistant to many broad-spectrum fungicides (Tyler et al, 2006). Some of the fungicides effective against oomycetes, such as metalaxil, have resulted in the emergence of insensitive strains and resurgence events due to their single site of action (Randall et al, 2014). Interdisciplinary studies and consistent resources have been invested in finding new, effective alternatives for the integrated pest management of oomycete diseases (Gessler et al, 2011)
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