title: Effect of Selenium on Control of Postharvest Gray Mold of Tomato Fruit and the Possible Mechanisms Involved.
abstract: Selenium (Se) has important benefits for crop growth and stress tolerance at low concentrations. However, there is very little information on antimicrobial effect of Se against the economically important fungus Botrytis cinerea. In the present study, using sodium selenite as Se source, we investigated the effect of Se salts on spore germination and mycelial growth of the fungal pathogen in vitro and gray mold control in harvested tomato fruit. Se treatment at 24 mg/L significantly inhibited spore germination of the fungal pathogen and effectively controlled gray mold in harvested tomato fruit. Se treatment at 24 mg/L seems to induce the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species in the fungal spores. The membrane integrity damage was observed with fluorescence microscopy following staining with propidium iodide after treatment of the spores with Se. These results suggest that Se has the potential for controlling gray mold rot of tomato fruits and might be useful in integrated control against gray mold disease of postharvest fruits and vegetables caused by B. cinerea. The mechanisms by which Se decreased gray mold decay of tomato fruit may be directly related to the severe damage to the conidia plasma membrane and loss of cytoplasmic materials from the hyphae.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agri-Food Safety of Anhui Province and Laboratory of Quality and Safty Risk Assessment for Agricultural Products on Storage and Preservation of the Ministry of Agriculture (Hefei), School of Plant Protection - School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural UniversityHefei, China; School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China.
authors.forename: Zhilin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China; Jiangsu Bio-Engineering Research Centre of SeleniumSuzhou, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China.
authors.forename: Xuebin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Water Management Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service, Parlier CA, USA.
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Bañuelos
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Program and Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville IL, USA.
authors.forename: Zhi-Qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Technology and Science Beijing Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China; Jiangsu Bio-Engineering Research Centre of SeleniumSuzhou, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China; Jiangsu Bio-Engineering Research Centre of SeleniumSuzhou, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China.
authors.forename: Linxi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agri-Food Safety of Anhui Province and Laboratory of Quality and Safty Risk Assessment for Agricultural Products on Storage and Preservation of the Ministry of Agriculture (Hefei), School of Plant Protection - School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural UniversityHefei, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei, China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Botrytis cinerea; cellular leakage; membrane integrity; postharvest treatment; reactive oxygen species; selenium