1. Characterization of the Exo-Metabolome of the Emergent Phytopathogen Fusarium kuroshium sp. nov., a Causal Agent of Fusarium Dieback
- Author
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José A. Guerrero-Analco, José Benjamín Rodríguez-Haas, Clemente de Jesús García-Ávila, Angélica Gutiérrez-Sánchez, Juan L. Monribot-Villanueva, Diana Sánchez-Rangel, Eliel Ruiz-May, José Abel López-Buenfil, and Javier Plasencia
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Fusarium ,Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,Virulence ,lcsh:Medicine ,phytotoxicity ,Biology ,Ambrosia beetle ,Toxicology ,exo-metabolome ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,Microbiology ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Metabolomics ,Tandem Mass Spectrometry ,Metabolome ,fusaric acid ,Fusarium kuroshium ,Fusarium dieback ,Plant Diseases ,030304 developmental biology ,Chromatography, Reverse-Phase ,0303 health sciences ,Chlorosis ,fungal metabolomics ,Persea ,Persea americana (avocado) ,lcsh:R ,food and beverages ,Mycotoxins ,biology.organism_classification ,Plant Leaves ,chemistry ,Host-Pathogen Interactions ,Phytotoxicity ,Fusaric acid ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Fusarium kuroshium is the fungal symbiont associated with the ambrosia beetle Euwallacea kuroshio, a plague complex that attacks avocado, among other hosts, causing a disease named Fusarium dieback (FD). However, the contribution of F. kuroshium to the establishment of this disease remains unknown. To advance the understanding of F. kuroshium pathogenicity, we profiled its exo-metabolome through metabolomics tools based on accurate mass spectrometry. We found that F. kuroshium can produce several key metabolites with phytotoxicity properties and other compounds with unknown functions. Among the metabolites identified in the fungal exo-metabolome, fusaric acid (FA) was further studied due to its phytotoxicity and relevance as a virulence factor. We tested both FA and organic extracts from F. kuroshium at various dilutions in avocado foliar tissue and found that they caused necrosis and chlorosis, resembling symptoms similar to those observed in FD. This study reports for first-time insights regarding F. kuroshium associated with its virulence, which could lead to the potential development of diagnostic and management tools of FD disease and provides a basis for understanding the interaction of F. kuroshium with its host plants.
- Published
- 2021