NoPv1: a synthetic antimicrobial peptide aptamer targeting the causal agents of grapevine downy mildew and potato late blight

Abstract

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is a crop of major economic importance. However, grapevine yield is guaranteed by the massive use of pesticides to counteract pathogen infections. Under temperate-humid climate conditions, downy mildew is a primary threat for viticulture. Downy mildew is caused by the biotrophic oomycete Plasmopara viticola Berl. & de Toni, which can attack grapevine green tissues. In lack of treatments and with favourable weather conditions, downy mildew can devastate up to 75% of grape cultivation in one season and weaken newly born shoots, causing serious economic losses. Nevertheless, the repeated and massive use of some fungicides can lead to environmental pollution, negative impact on non-targeted organisms, development of resistance, residual toxicity and can foster human health concerns. In this manuscript, we provide an innovative approach to obtain specific pathogen protection for plants. By using the yeast two-hybrid approach and the P. viticola cellulose synthase 2 (PvCesA2), as target enzyme, we screened a combinatorial 8 amino acid peptide library with the aim to identify interacting peptides, potentially able to inhibit PvCesa2. Here, we demonstrate that the NoPv1 peptide aptamer prevents P. viticola germ tube formation and grapevine leaf infection without affecting the growth of non-target organisms and without being toxic for human cells. Furthermore, NoPv1 is also able to counteract Phytophthora infestans growth, the causal agent of late blight in potato and tomato, possibly as a consequence of the high amino acid sequence similarity between P. viticola and P. infestans cellulose synthase enzymes.

Activity and Mechanism of Action of the Bioceramic Silicon Nitride as an Environmentally Friendly Alternative for the Control of the Grapevine Downy Mildew Pathogen Plasmopara viticola

“…Other naturally derived compounds tested include hydrolyzed proteins, plant extracts, and inorganic salts. In this context, a recent promising strategy has been proposed based on the use of a selected aptamer peptide, specifically inhibiting P. viticola cellulose synthase 2, and therefore preventing infection with no adverse effects on non-target organisms (Colombo et al, 2015(Colombo et al, , 2020.…”

Influence of Nitrogen on Grapevine Susceptibility to Downy Mildew

“…At T3, chlorophyll fluorescence was measured to evaluate the photosynthetic performance associated with excised leaf discs through an imaging chlorophyll fluorometer Imaging PAM (Walz, Effeltrich, Germany). Maximum quantum yield (MQY) and effective quantum yield of photosystem II were measured and imaging data analyzed using the ImagingWinGigE (Walz, Germany) software to retrieve the MQY mean value associated with each leaf disc [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Two measurements per sample were performed: the first measure (t1) was done without acclimatization to darkness, while the second (t15) was performed after 15 min of acclimatization to darkness.…”

The Role of Biostimulants as Alleviators of Biotic and Abiotic Stresses in Grapevine: A Review

“…Recently, a study contributed with an innovative approach to obtain specific protection against the causal agents of grape downy mildew ( P . viticola ) [ 36 ]. In this study, the authors used the yeast two-hybrid approach and the P .…”