There are increasing environmental risks associated with extensive use of fungicides for crop protection. Hence, the use of new approaches using natural plant defense mechanisms, including application of plant antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), is of great interest. Recently, we studied the structural-function relationships between antifungal activity and five hevein-like AMPs from the WAMP (wheat AMP) family of Triticum kiharae Dorof. et Migush. We first discovered that short peptides derived from the central, N-, and C-terminal regions of one of the WAMPs (WAMP-2) were able to augment the inhibitory effect of Folicur® EC 250, a triazole fungicide, on spore germination of the wheat pathogenic fungi, including Fusarium spp. and Alternaria alternata. In this research, we explored the ability of chemically synthesized WAMP-2-derived peptides for enhancing the sensitivity of two other Fusarium and Alternaria species, F. oxysporum and A. solani, causing wilt and early blight of tomato, respectively, to Folicur®. The synthesized WAMP-2-derived peptides synergistically interacted with the fungicide and significantly increased its efficacy, inhibiting conidial germination at much lower Folicur® concentrations than required for the same efficiency using the fungicide alone. The experiments on co-applications of some of WAMP-2-fragments and the fungicide on tomato leaves and seedlings, which confirmed the results obtained in vitro, are described.
Keywords: Alternaria solani; Fusarium oxysporum; chemosensitization to agricultural fungicides; enhanced fungicidal effect; inhibition of spore germination; synergy; tebuconazole; wheat hevein-like antimicrobial peptides.