title: Controlling food-contaminating fungi by targeting their antioxidative stress-response system with natural phenolic compounds.
abstract: The antioxidative stress-response system is essential to fungi for tolerating exposure to phenolic compounds. We show how this system can be targeted to improve fungal control by using compounds that inhibit the fungal mitochondrial respiratory chain. Targeting mitochondrial superoxide dismutase with selected phenolic acid derivatives (e.g., vanillyl acetone) resulted in a 100- to 1,000-fold greater sensitivity to strobilurin or carboxin fungicides. This synergism is significantly greater with strobilurin than with carboxin, suggesting that complex III of the mitochondrial respiratory chain is a better target than complex II for fungal control, using phenolics. These results show certain natural compounds are effective synergists to commercial fungicides and can be used for improving control of food-contaminating pathogens. These results suggest that the use of such compounds for fungal control can reduce environmental and health risks associated with commercial fungicides, lower cost for control, and the probability for development of resistance.
authors.affiliation: Plant Mycotoxin Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710, USA.
authors.forename: Jong H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Noreen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: Kathleen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Molyneux
authors.forename: Bruce C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D001547:Benzaldehydes / Q000494:pharmacology; D002261:Carboxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D002934:Cinnamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005506:Food Contamination; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000494:pharmacology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006139:Guaiacol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D031324:Juglans / Q000382:microbiology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology; D010636:Phenols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013943:Thymol / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D001547:Benzaldehydes; D002934:Cinnamates; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D010636:Phenols; C029010:cinnamic acid; D013943:Thymol; C013738:zingerone; D002261:Carboxin; D006139:Guaiacol; C100058:vanillin; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase