Plants from a semi-arid environment as a source of phytochemicals against Fusarium crown and foot rot in zucchini

• Published in: AMB Express Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 6
• Main Authors: Khalil, Ahmed M. A., Saleh, Ahmed M., Abo El-Souad, Sayed M. S., Mohamed, Mahmoud S. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 17-01-2023; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Arid environments; Aridity; Bioactive compounds; Biocides; Biological activity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bioprospecting; Biotechnology; Cluster analysis; Clustering; Cucurbita; Electron microscopy; Flavonoids; Foot rot; Fungal diseases; Fungi; Fungicides; Fusarium; Fusarium solani; Harsh environments; Health hazards; Life Sciences; Metabolites; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microscopy; Original; Original Article; Phytochemicals; Polyphenols; Scanning electron microscopy; Semi arid environments; Semiarid environments; Transmission electron microscopy; Ultrastructure; Zucchini; Polyphenols; Zucchini; Phytochemicals; Ultrastructure; Biocides; Fusarium solani
• ISSN: 2191-0855; 2191-0855
• DOI: 10.1186/s13568-023-01515-0

Fusarium
crown and foot rot, caused by
F. solani
f. sp.
cucurbitae
, are major fungal diseases affecting zucchini and other cucurbits. Despite the efficacy of synthetic fungicides, their health and environmental hazards have highlighted the urgent need for safer alternatives, such as phytochemical-based biocides. Owing to the upregulation of the plant secondary metabolism under stressful conditions, bioprospecting in harsh environments could reveal ore plants for bioactive metabolites. In this study, thirteen wild plants were collected from their natural habitat in a semiarid environment (Yanbu, Saudi Arabia) and extracted to obtain phenolics rich extracts. Total polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant capacities and the antifungal activities of the extracts against a pathogenic isolate of
F. solani
were assessed.
Fusarium solani
was isolated from infected zucchini and characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Hierarchical clustering analysis of the phytochemical screening and in vitro bioactivity revealed that
Rosmarinus officinalis
,
Pulicaria crispa
,
Achillea falcata
and
Haloxylon salicornicum
were the richest in polyphenols and the most powerful against
F. solani
. Further, the extracts of these four plants significantly decreased the disease incidence in zucchini, where
P. crispa
was the premier. Interestingly, results of transmission electron microscopy revealed that extract of
P. crispa
, as a representative of the powerful group, induced ultrastructural disorders in fungal cells. Therefore, this study suggests the use of
R. officinalis
,
P. crispa
,
A. falcata
and
H. salicornicum
grown in semi-arid environments as ore plants to develop phytochemical-based biocides against
Fusarium
crown and foot rot.