Leaf spot-associated pathogenic fungi alter photosynthetic, biochemical, and metabolic responses in eggplant during the early stages of infection

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology

Abstract

Eggplant is prone to several fungal diseases, of which leaf spot disease is the one of the most devastating in the Mattu Gulla variety of eggplant. The current investigation focuses on assessing the pathogenicity of fungi associated with the leaf spot disease and the effects of fungal infection on host plant physiology, biochemistry, and metabolism. Four fungi, Alternaria solani, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium solani, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae, associated with leaf spot disease, were found to have pathogenic potential in Mattu Gulla. Plants inoculated with these pathogenic fungi altered photosynthetic rates and chlorophyll pigment contents as the fungal infection progressed, even though the chlorophyll b content was not significantly altered. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD and GPOX were significantly increased with the progression of the infection. Untargeted metabolic analysis revealed unique and common plant metabolites present across the treatment groups during early stages of infection.

DOI

10.1016/j.pmpp.2024.102320

Publication Date

9-1-2024

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