title: Exploring polyamine metabolism of Alternaria alternata to target new substances to control the fungal infection.
abstract: Polyamines are essential for all living organisms as they are involved in several vital cell functions. The biosynthetic pathway of polyamines and its regulation is well established and, in this sense, the ornithine descarboxylase (ODC) enzyme acts as one of the controlling factors of the entire pathway. In this work we assessed the inhibition of the ODC with D, l-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on Alternaria alternata and we observed that fungal growth and mycotoxin production were reduced. This inhibition was not completely restored by the addition of exogenous putrescine. Actually, increasing concentrations of putrescine on the growth media negatively affected mycotoxin production, which was corroborated by the downregulation of pksJ and altR, both genes involved in mycotoxin biosynthesis. We also studied the polyamine metabolism of A. alternata with the goal of finding new targets that compromise its growth and its mycotoxin production capacity. In this sense, we tested two different polyamine analogs, AMXT-2455 and AMXT-3016, and we observed that they partially controlled A. alternata's viability in vitro and in vivo using tomato plants. Finding strategies to design new fungicide substances is becoming a matter of interest as resistance problems are emerging.
authors.affiliation: Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: nestiarte@tecal.udl.cat.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Estiarte
authors.affiliation: Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: acrespo@valgenetics.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crespo-Sempere
authors.affiliation: Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: smarin@tecal.udl.cat.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marín
authors.affiliation: Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: vsanchis@tecal.udl.cat.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sanchis
authors.affiliation: Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio Center, Lleida, Spain. Electronic address: ajramos@tecal.udl.cat.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000528:Alternaria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D000518:Eflornithine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D025282:Mycelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D011073:Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011700:Putrescine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D009183:Mycotoxins; D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D011073:Polyamines; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase; D011700:Putrescine; D000518:Eflornithine
keywords: Alternaria alternata; Alternariol; Alternariol monomethyl ether; DFMO; Polyamine transport inhibitor; Polyamines