Abstract

Background: Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are natural products obtained from plants of the Brassicas family. They represent an environmentally friendly alternative for the control of phytopathogenic fungi. However, as it has been observed with synthetic fungicides, the possibility of inducing ITC-resistant strains is a major concern. It is, therefore, essential to understanding the molecular mechanisms of fungal resistance to ITCs. We analyzed a subtractive library containing 180 clones of an Alternaria alternata strain resistant to 2-propenyl ITC (2-pITC). After their sequencing, 141 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified using the BlastX algorithm. The sequence assembly was carried out using CAP3 software; the functional annotation and metabolic pathways identification were performed using the Blast2GO program. Results: The bioinformatics analysis revealed 124 reads with similarities to proteins, involved in transcriptional control, defense and stress pathways, cell wall integrity maintenance, detoxification, organization and cytoskeleton destabilization; exocytosis, transport, DNA damage control, ribosome maintenance, and RNA processing. In addition, transcripts corresponding to enzymes as oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, and ligases, were detected. Degradation pathways for styrene, aminobenzoate, and toluene were induced, as well as the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid and several types of N-glycan. Conclusions: The fungal response showed that natural compounds could induce tolerance/resistance mechanisms in organisms in the same manner as synthetic chemical products. The response of A. alternata to the toxicity of 2-pITC is a sophisticated phenomenon including the induction of signaling cascades targeting a broad set of cellular processes. Whole-transcriptome approaches are needed to elucidate completely the fungal response to 2-pITC. Normal 0 21 false false false ES X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Tabla normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;}

Highlights

  • The use of synthetic fungicides in agriculture caused the development of drug-resistant fungal strains [1]

  • The results presented revealed a broader set of transcripts and cellular activities putatively implicated in the survival of A. alternata exposed to 2p-ITC

  • The proteins and enzymes that were induced in response to 2p-ITC can be induced by the fungal resistance to different synthetic compounds

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Summary

Introduction

The use of synthetic fungicides in agriculture caused the development of drug-resistant fungal strains [1]. The presence of toxic residues in agricultural products may have potentially adverse effects on human health [2], the environment [3], and biodiversity [4,5] It is, important to reduce the dependency on synthetic fungicides to control phytopathogenic fungi. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are natural products obtained from plants of the Brassicas family They represent an environmentally friendly alternative for the control of phytopathogenic fungi. As it has been observed with synthetic fungicides, the possibility of inducing ITC-resistant strains is a major concern. Whole-transcriptome approaches are needed to elucidate completely the fungal response to 2-pITC

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