Nematicidal action of Clonostachys rosea against Meloidogyne incognita: in-vitro and in-silico analyses

Clonostachys rosea is a biocontrol agent against a wide range of pests and diseases. In the present study, an in-vitro nematicidal activity of C. rosea has been documented by observing the behavioural response of Meloidogyne incognita (Mi) towards the culture filtrate of C. rosea. Eleven different biomolecules observed in GC-MS analysis were tested against seven potential target proteins of Mi through molecular modelling using PyRx 0.8 software. Among the biomolecules tested, Dihydro-4-hydroxy-2(3H)-furanone had the highest binding affinity for Acetylcholine esterase (AchE) (-7.5 kcal/mol), Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX) (-7.8 kcal/mol), Heat shock protein (Hsp90) (-8.4 kcal/mol), Odorant response gene 1 (ODR 3) (-6.5 kcal/mol), Neuropeptide G-protein coupled receptor (nGPCR) (-7.6 kcal/mol) and Cathepsin L-protease (cpl-1) (-6.8 kcal/mol) protein targets compared to synthetic pesticide, carbofuran. The biomolecule 2,3-dihydroxypropanal has shown the highest binding affinity for Odorant response gene 1 (ODR 1) (-6.6 kcal/mol). Understanding the interactions between the target protein-ligands docked complexes displayed additional contacts such as hydrophobic interactions, van der Waals, pi-pi stacking, alkyl and pi-alkyl. The present investigation demonstrated that C. rosea is a hub of potential biomolecules that could be explored for nematicidal activities.