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Fodil S, De Zotti M, Tundo S, Gabbatore L, Vettorazzo I, Luti S, Musetti R, Sella L, Favaron F, Baccelli I. Multiple lysine substitutions in the peptaibol trichogin GA IV enhance the antibiotic activity against plant pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 201:105901. [PMID: 38685232 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2024.105901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Plant diseases caused by Pseudomonas syringae are essentially controlled in the field with the use of copper-based products and antibiotics, raising environmental and safety concerns. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from fungi may represent a sustainable alternative to those chemicals. Trichogin GA IV, a non-ribosomal, 11-residue long AMP naturally produced by the fungus Trichoderma longibrachiatum has the ability to insert into phospholipidic membranes and form water-filled pores, thereby perturbing membrane integrity and permeability. In previous studies, peptide analogs modified at the level of specific residues were designed to be water-soluble and active against plant pathogens. Here, we studied the role of glycine-to-lysine substitutions and of the presence of a C-terminal leucine amide on bioactivity against Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. P. syringae diseases affect a wide range of crops worldwide, including tomato and kiwifruit. Our results show that trichogin GA IV analogs containing two or three Gly-to-Lys substitutions are highly effective in vitro against P. syringae pv. tomato (Pst), displaying minimal inhibitory and minimal bactericidal concentrations in the low micromolar range. The same analogs are also able to inhibit in vitro the kiwifruit pathogen P. syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) biovar 3. When sprayed on tomato plants 24 h before Pst inoculation, only tri-lysine containing analogs were able to significantly reduce bacterial titers and symptom development in infected plants. Our results point to a positive correlation between the number of lysine substitutions and the antibacterial activity. This correlation was supported by microscopy analyses performed with mono-, di- and tri-Lys containing analogs that showed a different degree of interaction with Pst cells and ultrastructural changes that culminated in cell lysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihem Fodil
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council of Italy, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Marta De Zotti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
| | - Silvio Tundo
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Viale Dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy; Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Viale Dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Laura Gabbatore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Irene Vettorazzo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Simone Luti
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
| | - Rita Musetti
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Viale Dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Luca Sella
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Viale Dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Francesco Favaron
- Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Viale Dell' Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Ivan Baccelli
- Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council of Italy, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
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Santos MG, Nunes da Silva M, Vasconcelos MW, Carvalho SMP. Scientific and technological advances in the development of sustainable disease management tools: a case study on kiwifruit bacterial canker. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 14:1306420. [PMID: 38273947 PMCID: PMC10808555 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1306420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Plant disease outbreaks are increasing in a world facing climate change and globalized markets, representing a serious threat to food security. Kiwifruit Bacterial Canker (KBC), caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), was selected as a case study for being an example of a pandemic disease that severely impacted crop production, leading to huge economic losses, and for the effort that has been made to control this disease. This review provides an in-depth and critical analysis on the scientific progress made for developing alternative tools for sustainable KBC management. Their status in terms of technological maturity is discussed and a set of opportunities and threats are also presented. The gradual replacement of susceptible kiwifruit cultivars, with more tolerant ones, significantly reduced KBC incidence and was a major milestone for Psa containment - which highlights the importance of plant breeding. Nonetheless, this is a very laborious process. Moreover, the potential threat of Psa evolving to more virulent biovars, or resistant lineages to existing control methods, strengthens the need of keep on exploring effective and more environmentally friendly tools for KBC management. Currently, plant elicitors and beneficial fungi and bacteria are already being used in the field with some degree of success. Precision agriculture technologies, for improving early disease detection and preventing pathogen dispersal, are also being developed and optimized. These include hyperspectral technologies and forecast models for Psa risk assessment, with the latter being slightly more advanced in terms of technological maturity. Additionally, plant protection products based on innovative formulations with molecules with antibacterial activity against Psa (e.g., essential oils, phages and antimicrobial peptides) have been validated primarily in laboratory trials and with few compounds already reaching field application. The lessons learned with this pandemic disease, and the acquired scientific and technological knowledge, can be of importance for sustainably managing other plant diseases and handling future pandemic outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel G. Santos
- GreenUPorto—Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/Inov4Agro, DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Marta Nunes da Silva
- GreenUPorto—Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/Inov4Agro, DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal
| | - Marta W. Vasconcelos
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal
| | - Susana M. P. Carvalho
- GreenUPorto—Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre/Inov4Agro, DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
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