A growing body of literature indicates that many synthetic pesticides have adverse effects on human, animal, and environmental health. As a result, plantderived natural products are quickly gaining momentum as safer and less ecologically damaging alternatives due to their low toxicity, high biodegradability, and good specificity. Essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula x intermedia cv Grosso, and Lavandula x intermedia cv Provence as well as various mono-and sesquiterpene essential oil constituents were tested in order to assess their antifungal potential on three important agricultural pathogens: Botrytis cinerea, Mucor piriformis, and Penicillium expansum. Fungal susceptibility testing was performed using disk diffusion assays. The majority of essential oil constituents tested did not have a significant effect; however, 3-carene, carvacrol, geraniol, nerol and perillyl alcohol demonstrated significant inhibition at concentrations as low as 1 μL/mL. In vivo testing using strawberry fruit as a model system supported in vitro results and revealed that perillyl alcohol, carvacrol and 3-carene were effective in limiting infection by postharvest pathogens.
A methyl jasmonate responsive 3-carene synthase (Li3CARS) gene was isolated from Lavandula x intermedia and functionally characterized in vitro. Lavenders produce essential oils consisting mainly of monoterpenes, including the potent antimicrobial and insecticidal monoterpene 3-carene. In this study we isolated and functionally characterized a leaf-specific, methyl jasmonate (MeJA)-responsive monoterpene synthase (Li3CARS) from Lavandula x intermedia. The ORF excluding transit peptides encoded a 64.9 kDa protein that was expressed in E. coli, and purified with Ni-NTA agarose affinity chromatography. The recombinant Li3CARS converted GPP into 3-carene as the major product, with K and k of 3.69 ± 1.17 µM and 2.01 s respectively. Li3CARS also accepted NPP as a substrate to produce multiple products including a small amount of 3-carene. The catalytic efficiency of Li3CARS to produce 3-carene was over ten fold higher for GPP (k /K = 0.56 µMs) than NPP (k /K = 0.044 µMs). Production of distinct end product profiles from different substrates (GPP versus NPP) by Li3CARS indicates that monoterpene metabolism may be controlled in part through substrate availability. Li3CARS transcripts were found to be highly abundant in leaves (16-fold) as compared to flower tissues. The transcriptional activity of Li3CARS correlated with 3-carene production, and was up-regulated (1.18- to 3.8-fold) with MeJA 8-72 h post-treatment. The results suggest that Li3CARS may have a defensive role in Lavandula.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.