Antifungal sesquiterpenes with post-harvest anthracnose control effect on bananas from the fungus Fusarium lateritium

Abstract

To search for antifungal leads, the metabolites of an insect-derived fungus Fusarium lateritium ZMT01 were investigated, providing five sesquiterpenes (1–5), including new molecules microsphaeropsisins D and E (1 and 2). The evaluated antifungal activities in vitro which are higher than the positive control triadimefon include: 1 and 2 towards Fusarium oxysporum (MICs 50, 25 mg L−1; triadimefon 100 mg L−1); 1, 2, 4 and 5 towards Penicillium italicum (MICs 25, 12.5, 25, 25; triadimefon 50 mg L−1), 1, 2 and 4 towards Colletotrichum musae (MICs 25, 12.5, 25; triadimefon 80 mg L−1), 2 and 4 towards Fusarium graminearum (MICs 100, 100; triadimefon 150 mg L−1). The bioassay in vivo displayed that the banana anthracnose control effect of 2 (100 mg L−1) was also higher than that of triadimefon (Inhibition ratios 27.5 ± 2.5%, 55.3 ± 1.4%, 52.1 ± 1.3% for 2, 22.5 ± 2.1%, 47.2 ± 2.0%, 36.6 ± 2.2% for triadimefon at 4 d, 8 d and 12 d, respectively).