Abstract
The main component of creosote obtained from dry wood distillation—guaiacol—is a natural antioxidant that has been widely used in pharmaceutical and food preservation applications. However, the antifungal mechanism of guaiacol against phytopathogens remains unclear. In this study, we found that guaiacol exerts inhibitory effects against mycelial growth, conidial formation and germination, and deoxynivalenol (DON) biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum in a dose-dependent manner. The median effective concentration (EC50) value of guaiacol for the standard F. graminearum strain PH-1 was 1.838 mM. Guaiacol strongly inhibited conidial production and germination. The antifungal effects of guaiacol may be attributed to its capability to cause damage to the cell membrane by disrupting Ca2+ transport channels. In addition, the decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity by guaiacol treatment indicate that guaiacol displays activity against DON production by modulating the oxidative response in F. graminearum. Taken together, this study revealed the potentials of antioxidant in inhibiting mycotoxins in F. graminearum.
Highlights
Wheat is the most important food crop in the world and ranks first in terms of planting area and yield
Compared to that in the control, the number of conidia was significantly decreased by 97.8% upon treatment with 4.8 mM guaiacol (Figure 2A), and guaiacol at 1.6–6.4 mM delayed the process of conidial germination
All these results suggest that guaiacol had a remarkable effect on hyphae growth and conidial development in F. graminearum
Summary
Wheat is the most important food crop in the world and ranks first in terms of planting area and yield. Fusarium head blight (FHB), an important disease at the spike stage caused by the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) that affects the yield and quality of wheat (Dean et al, 2012), mainly occurs in wet and rainy areas (Starkey et al, 2007). FHB seriously affects the wheat yield, but is related to the accumulation of toxic secondary metabolites, such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), during disease infestation; these metabolites remain and accumulate in the seeds, seriously affecting the quality and safety of grains and endangering human and animal health (Pinton and Oswald, 2014). Due to the widespread presence of the toxin, many countries, including China, have established maximum levels of DON allowed in wheat and other grain products, and the control of FHB and DON pollution is urgently needed
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