Tea tree oil controls brown rot in peaches by damaging the cell membrane of Monilinia fructicola

•Of four fungi tested, M. fructicola was the most pathogenic on post-harvest peaches.•TTO exhibits antifungal effects against M. fructicola in vitro and in vivo.•TTO damages the cell membrane of M. fructicola.•TTO stimulates accumulation of ROS in mycelia and spores of M. fructicola. This study test...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Postharvest biology and technology 2021-05, Vol.175, p.111474, Article 111474
Main Authors: Xu, Yangyang, Wei, Jiuyi, Wei, Yingying, Han, Peipei, Dai, Kun, Zou, Xiurong, Jiang, Shu, Xu, Feng, Wang, Hongfei, Sun, Jincai, Shao, Xingfeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antifungal activity
Antifungal mechanism
Brown rot
Cell membranes
Chemical composition
Cytology
Essential oils
Fruits
Fungi
Fungicides
Membrane permeability
Monilinia fructicola
Morphology
Mycelia
Pathogenicity
Pathogens
Peach
Peaches
Reactive oxygen species
Tea tree oil
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Summary:•Of four fungi tested, M. fructicola was the most pathogenic on post-harvest peaches.•TTO exhibits antifungal effects against M. fructicola in vitro and in vivo.•TTO damages the cell membrane of M. fructicola.•TTO stimulates accumulation of ROS in mycelia and spores of M. fructicola. This study tested the efficacy of plant essential oils (EOs) for controlling rot in post-harvest peaches. Three fungal pathogens from naturally infected peaches were isolated and identified, and their pathogenicity was confirmed on peach fruit. Monilinia fructicola was the most pathogenic of the three isolates (M. fructicola, Penicillium expansum and P. spinulosum). The antifungal effects of four EOs (tea tree oil (TTO), thyme oil, rosemary oil, and lemon oil) were then evaluated against M. fructicola. TTO had the strongest antifungal activity against M. fructicola in vitro and in inoculated peach fruit. Experiments designed to probe the antifungal mechanisms of TTO revealed that the EO affects the composition of the M. fructicola cell membrane, leading to changes in mycelial morphology, membrane permeability, and levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species. Based on these results, we conclude that TTO is effective against infection by M. fructicola in post-harvest peaches. TTO should be considered as a viable substitute for conventional fungicides that are currently used to control rot in peach.
ISSN:0925-5214
1873-2356
DOI:10.1016/j.postharvbio.2021.111474