Inhibition of Fusarium graminearum growth and development by farnesol

Camile P. Semighini, Nicholas Murray, Steven D. Harris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

79 Scopus citations

Abstract

The isoprenoid farnesol was previously shown to induce morphological features characteristic of apoptosis in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. This study demonstrates that under similar liquid media growth conditions, farnesol also triggers apoptosis in the plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. However, unlike A. nidulans, F. graminearum spores treated with farnesol exhibited altered germination patterns and most (>60%) lysed upon prolonged exposure. Given the economic importance of F. graminearum as a pathogen of small grains, this study proposes that farnesol may have potential value as an antifungal compound.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)259-264
Number of pages6
JournalFEMS Microbiology Letters
Volume279
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Antifungal
  • Apoptosis
  • Farnesol
  • Fusarium graminearum
  • Macroconidia
  • Spore germination

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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