Effects of Coumarinyl Schiff Bases against Phytopathogenic Fungi, the Soil-Beneficial Bacteria and Entomopathogenic Nematodes: Deeper Insight into the Mechanism of Action

Coumarin derivatives have been reported as strong antifungal agents against various phy-topathogenic fungi. In this study, inhibitory effects of nine coumarinyl Schiff bases were evaluated against the plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Fusarium culmorum, Mac-rophomina pha...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Agić, D. (Author), Bešlo, D. (Author), Ćosić, J. (Author), Karnaš, M. (Author), Komar, M. (Author), Majić, I. (Author), Molnar, M. (Author), Rastija, V. (Author), Šarić, G.K (Author), Šubarić, D. (Author), Vrandečić, K. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:View Fulltext in Publisher
Description
Summary:Coumarin derivatives have been reported as strong antifungal agents against various phy-topathogenic fungi. In this study, inhibitory effects of nine coumarinyl Schiff bases were evaluated against the plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Fusarium culmorum, Mac-rophomina phaseolina and Sclerotinia sclerotiourum). The compounds were demonstrated to be efficient antifungal agents against Macrophomina phaseolina. The results of molecular docking on the six enzymes related to the antifungal activity suggested that the tested compounds act against plant pathogenic fungi, inhibiting plant cell-wall-degrading enzymes such as endoglucanase I and pectinase. Neither compound exhibited inhibitory effects against two beneficial bacteria (Bacillus mycoides and Bradyrhizobium japonicum) and two entomopathogenic nematodes. However, compound 9 was le-thal (46.25%) for nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and showed an inhibitory effect against ac-etylcholinesterase (AChE) (31.45%), confirming the relationship between these two activities. Cal-culated toxicity and the pesticide-likeness study showed that compound 9 was the least lipophilic compound with the highest aquatic toxicity. A molecular docking study showed that compounds 9 and 8 bind directly to the active site of AChE. Coumarinyl Schiff bases are promising active components of plant protection products, safe for the environment, human health, and nontarget organ-isms. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
ISBN:14203049 (ISSN)
DOI:10.3390/molecules27072196