title: Borrelidin, a potent antifungal agent: insight into the antifungal mechanism against Phytophthora sojae.
abstract: Borrelidin has high and specific antifungal activity against  Phytophthora sojae . To explore the antifungal mechanism of borrelidin against  P. sojae , the relationship between the antifungal activity of borrelidin and the concentration of threonine was evaluated. The results demonstrated that the growth-inhibitory effect of borrelidin on the growth of  P. sojae  was antagonized by threonine in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) may be the potential target of borrelidin. Subsequently, the inhibition of the enzymatic activity of ThrRS by borrelidin in vitro was confirmed. Furthermore, the detailed interaction between ThrRS and borrelidin was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD), implying a tight binding of borrelidin to ThrRS. Taken together, these results suggest that the antifungal activity of borrelidin against  P. sojae  was mediated by inhibition of ThrRS via the formation of the ThrRS-borrelidin complex.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ya-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xiang-Jing
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chong-Xi
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Wen-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005233:Fatty Alcohols / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D010838:Phytophthora / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D013912:Threonine / Q000378:metabolism; D013914:Threonine-tRNA Ligase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005233:Fatty Alcohols; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D013912:Threonine; C005066:borrelidin; D013914:Threonine-tRNA Ligase