Fungicidal activity and molecular modeling of fusarubin analogues from Fusarium oxysporum

Abstract

Fusarubin analogues of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris were investigated for antifungal activity in vitro against five soil borne phytopathogenic fungi. 3-O-Methyl-8-O-methyl-fusarubin was inhibitory towards S. sclerotiorum (EC₅₀ 0.33 mmol L⁻¹) and Sclerotium rolfsii (EC₅₀ 0.38 mmol L⁻¹). A structure–antifungal activity relationship of fusarubin analogues was established from their activity performance. Possible mechanism of action of these compounds was studied using molecular docking and simulations against three target enzymes which revealed receptor ligand binding affinity. Docking of 3-O-methyl-8-O-methyl-fusarubin into the succinate dehydrogenase site revealed formation of salt bridge, hydrogen bond, π–anion, π–alkyl, and Van der Waals interactions.

Keywords:

• Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris
• fusarubin analogues
• antifungal activity
• molecular modeling
• succinate dehydrogenase

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Director, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, India, for the research facilities. Further they are thankful to the financial support obtained from the funding agency Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Vide no. ACH:09-01(3), New Delhi, India.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.