title: Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Senecio jacobaea affect fungal growth.
abstract: We investigated the growth-reducing effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from Senecio jacobaea on nine plant-associated fungi (five strains of Fusarium oxysporum, two of F. sambucinum, and two of Trichoderma sp). Fungal growth was monitored on water agar media containing different concentrations of monocrotaline, retrorsine, or a purified extract of PAs from S. jacobaea. The growth rate of six strains was inhibited by PAs at the highest test concentration (3.33 mM), with the magnitude of the inhibition (7-35%) being dependent upon the specific fungus-PA interaction. In general, the PA extract caused the largest inhibition. However, the fungi isolated from S. jacobaea were positively affected by the PA extract (7-9%). Retrorsine N oxide was as effective as retrorsine in its inhibition of mycelium growth.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary and Ecological Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands. hol@rulsfb.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: W H G
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Hol
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Veen
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D029864:Crotalaria / Q000737:chemistry; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D016686:Monocrotaline / Q000494:pharmacology; D025282:Mycelium / Q000254:growth & development; D010947:Plants, Toxic / Q000737:chemistry; D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012674:Senecio / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids; C013577:isatidine; D016686:Monocrotaline; C003300:retrorsine