Dual effect of Rugulosin A: Inhibition of Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata growth and protection against mold disease in grapevine plantlets and berries
Abstract
Rugulosin A (RugA), a bis-anthraquinone isolated from the endolichenic fungus Coniochaeta velutina, was evaluated for its antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata. RugA inhibited mycelial growth of both pathogens, showing greater strength against Botrytis cinerea (IC50 = 2.5 μM) than against Alternaria alternata (IC50 = 10 μM). Nevertheless, concerning spore germination inhibition, RugA was slightly more efficient on Alternaria than on Botrytis, with a MIC of 75 μM for Alternaria alternata and 100 μM for Botrytis cinerea. Treatment with 25 μM RugA reduced the expression of genes involved in spore germination and pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea. Confocal microscopy using propidium iodide, DCFH-DA, and 2-NBDG revealed that RugA disrupted membrane integrity, induced oxidative stress, and impaired sugar uptake, ultimately leading to fungal cell death. Molecular docking analyses further indicated a strong interaction between RugA and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, with a binding affinity of -11.2 kcal/mol, which was associated with reduced enzyme activity and may contribute to the observed antifungal effects. Moreover, the expression of some grapevine defense genes, such as PR1, PR3, PR4, STS, HSR1, and EDS1, involved in pathogenicity, was not induced on infected leaves treated with RugA, suggesting a protective effect of RugA. Furthermore, 100 μM RugA spraying did not show any toxicity to housefly maggots and grapevine plantlets.
Taken together, these data suggested that RugA could be a promising candidate for combating phytopathogenic fungi for further applications in agriculture.
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BibTeX
@article{messanh2026dual,
title = {{Dual effect of Rugulosin A: Inhibition of Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata growth and protection against mold disease in grapevine plantlets and berries}},
author = {Koffi Vincent Messanh and Maelys Bollot and Léa Gibot-Leclerc and Marion Millot and Lengo Mambu and Catherine Riou},
journal = {Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103440},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05769887v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dual effect of Rugulosin A: Inhibition of Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata growth and protection against mold disease in grapevine plantlets and berries
AU - Koffi Vincent Messanh
AU - Maelys Bollot
AU - Léa Gibot-Leclerc
AU - Marion Millot
AU - Lengo Mambu
AU - Catherine Riou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology
DO - 10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103440
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05769887v1
AB - Rugulosin A (RugA), a bis-anthraquinone isolated from the endolichenic fungus Coniochaeta velutina, was evaluated for its antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata. RugA inhibited mycelial growth of both pathogens, showing greater strength against Botrytis cinerea (IC50 = 2.5 μM) than against Alternaria alternata (IC50 = 10 μM). Nevertheless, concerning spore germination inhibition, RugA was slightly more efficient on Alternaria than on Botrytis, with a MIC of 75 μM for Alternaria alternata and 100 μM for Botrytis cinerea. Treatment with 25 μM RugA reduced the expression of genes involved in spore germination and pathogenicity of Botrytis cinerea. Confocal microscopy using propidium iodide, DCFH-DA, and 2-NBDG revealed that RugA disrupted membrane integrity, induced oxidative stress, and impaired sugar uptake, ultimately leading to fungal cell death. Molecular docking analyses further indicated a strong interaction between RugA and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, with a binding affinity of -11.2 kcal/mol, which was associated with reduced enzyme activity and may contribute to the observed antifungal effects. Moreover, the expression of some grapevine defense genes, such as PR1, PR3, PR4, STS, HSR1, and EDS1, involved in pathogenicity, was not induced on infected leaves treated with RugA, suggesting a protective effect of RugA. Furthermore, 100 μM RugA spraying did not show any toxicity to housefly maggots and grapevine plantlets. Taken together, these data suggested that RugA could be a promising candidate for combating phytopathogenic fungi for further applications in agriculture.
SN - 0885-5765
SN - 1096-1178
ER -