title: A nontoxic polypeptide oligomer with a fungicide potency under agricultural conditions which is equal or greater than that of their chemical counterparts.
abstract: There are literally hundreds of polypeptides described in the literature which exhibit fungicide activity. Tens of them have had attempted protection by patent applications but none, as far as we are aware, have found application under real agricultural conditions. The reasons behind may be multiple where the sensitivity to the Sun UV radiation can come in first place. Here we describe a multifunctional glyco-oligomer with 210 kDa which is mainly composed by a 20 kDa polypeptide termed Blad that has been previously shown to be a stable intermediary product of β-conglutin catabolism. This oligomer accumulates exclusively in the cotyledons of Lupinus species, between days 4 and 12 after the onset of germination. Blad-oligomer reveals a plethora of biochemical properties, like lectin and catalytic activities, which are not unusual per si, but are remarkable when found to coexist in the same protein molecule. With this vast range of chemical characteristics, antifungal activity arises almost as a natural consequence. The biological significance and potential technological applications of Blad-oligomer as a plant fungicide to agriculture, its uniqueness stems from being of polypeptidic in nature, and with efficacies which are either equal or greater than the top fungicides currently in the market are addressed.
authors: Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Converde, SA, Biocant-Park, Cantanhede, Portugal.
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Monteiro
authors: Converde, SA, Biocant-Park, Cantanhede, Portugal.
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Carreira
authors: Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors: Regina
authors: R
authors: Freitas
authors: Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors: Ana Margarida
authors: AM
authors: Pinheiro
authors: Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal.
authors: Ricardo Boavida
authors: RB
authors: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000187:drug effects; D002686:Chitin / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D031297:Lupinus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D055503:Protein Multimerization
chemical_list: D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D010455:Peptides; D002686:Chitin