Murrayone: A Promising New Fungicide Destroying the Oxidative Homeostasis and Cell Membrane Integrity of Botrytis cinerea

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2026 May 27;74(20):15464-15476. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c12642.
Wanyun Zhu  1  2 ,  Yao Yu  1  2 ,  Xinru Li  1  2  3 ,  Yiping Hou  4 ,  Yuxin Zhou  1  2 ,  Baocheng Wu  1  2 ,  Mimi Li  1  2 ,  Min Wei  1  2 ,  Yiyun Qian  1  2 ,  Pingping Song  1  2  3
Affiliations
  • 1. Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
  • 2. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Resources, Nanjing 210014, China.
  • 3. Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
  • 4. College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
PMID: 42118700 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c12642
Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is a widely destructive plant pathogen, causing substantial economic losses worldwide. Our previous research showed that the natural product Murrayone had a potent Antifungal effect on B. cinerea. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of Antifungal activity of Murrayone against B. cinerea. Treatment with Murrayone caused severe cellular morphological damage, significantly inhibited sporulation and spore germination, reduced disease severity in blueberry fruits, and demonstrated its safety in seed germination assays. Transcriptome analysis revealed that its mechanism involves the disruption of oxidative homeostasis and damage to the cell membrane. The multitarget and multipathway Antifungal effects of Murrayone were preliminarily verified by assessing Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) accumulation, propidium iodide (PI) staining, and mycelial dry weight. This study demonstrates the potential of Murrayone as an Antifungal agent and elucidates its mode of action, providing a theoretical foundation for further exploration of Murrayone as a sustainable Antifungal strategy.

Keywords
Botrytis cinerea; Murrayone; antifungal mechanism; cell membrane integrity; oxidative stress; transcriptomics.
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