Natural control of plant pathogens through glucosinolates: an effective strategy against fungi and oomycetes

Abstract

Modern agriculture, consisting of extensive monocultures, requires the use of new environmentally sustainable strategies in order to combat the diseases that affect crops, such as fungi and oomycetes. These diseases have a significant impact on the main food-chain crops. Starting from the plant’s own chemical diversity for defense, glucosinolates (GSLs), which are secondary metabolites present in the tissues of plants belonging to the order Brassicales, have been widely related to the plant’s defensive capacity against various pests and diseases. The antimicrobial capacity of GSLs and/or their hydrolysis products (GHPs), such as isothiocyanates (ITCs), has been extensively tested on human pathogens, food-contaminating microorganisms and plant pathogens, in this last case, thanks to biofumigating the fields with plant tissues of the Brassica genus. In this sense, the natural pesticidal effect of various GSLs and GHPs against various fungal and oomycete pathogens has been proven, both at the field level as well as in planta and in vitro, thus showing to be a good strategy for controlling plant diseases in the field or opening the door to the use of these metabolites as natural biocides.