Antifungal products and associated mechanisms of action in the fight against Didymella segeticola responsible for tea and tobacco leaf spot diseases.
Bailly Christian C
The fungus Didymella segeticola is a major plant pathogen which causes significant damages to cultures and important economic losses. It is chiefly responsible for leaf spots and leaf blights of tea and tobacco species, and at least seven other plants. Effective measures are taken to detect early the disease and to limit its propagation and its impact on plant culture. However, novel fungicidal and fungistatic agents are needed to combat D. segeticola-induced leaf spot disease. The present review provides an analysis of the top-10 natural and synthetic products active against D. segeticola and the associated molecular targets and/or mechanism of action. The products include (1) ergosterol synthesis inhibitor jiahuangxianjunzuo, (2) protein translation inhibitor zhongshengmycin, (3) succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor boscalid, (4) nitrate reductase inhibitor kasugamycin, (5) β-tubulin binder griseofulvin, (6) DNA-binding agent carvacrol, (7) pyruvate dehydrogenase inhibitor phenazine-1-carboxamide, (8) threonine dehydratase inhibitor wuyiencin, (9) glucose regulator erlvejunzuo, and (10) phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase inhibitor ningnanmycin. The potency of the compounds varies significantly, with EC50 values from 0.5 nM (boscalid) to 100 μM (kasugamycin). The diversity of products and their molecular targets underline the multiplicity of approaches currently investigated to tackle leaf spot disease. On this basis, novel products and combinations can be proposed and the battle is going again.