Ethylicin Prevents Potato Late Blight by Disrupting Protein Biosynthesis of <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>

• Main Authors: Shumin Zhang, Meiquan Zhang, A. Rehman Khalid, Linxuan Li, Yang Chen, Pan Dong, Hanyan Wang, Maozhi Ren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Pathogens
• Subjects: <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>; ethylicin; potato late blight; proteomics; ribosome; metabonomics
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/4/299

<i>Phytophthora infestans</i>, the causal agent of potato late blight, triggered the devastating Great Irish Famine that lasted from 1845 to 1852. Today, it is still the greatest threat to the potato yield. Ethylicin is a broad-spectrum biomimetic-fungicide. However, its application in the control of <i>Phytophthora infestans</i> is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of ethylicin on <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>. We found that ethylicin inhibited the mycelial growth, sporulation capacity, spore germination and virulence of <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>. Furthermore, the integrated analysis of proteomics and metabolomics indicates that ethylicin may inhibit peptide or protein biosynthesis by suppressing both the ribosomal function and amino acid metabolism, causing an inhibitory effect on <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>. These observations indicate that ethylicin may be an anti-oomycete agent that can be used to control <i>Phytophthora infestans</i>.