Effective inhibition of fungal growth, deoxynivalenol biosynthesis and pathogenicity in cereal pathogen Fusarium spp. by cold atmospheric plasma

Fusarium spp. is one of the most destructive plant pathogenic fungi worldwide, not only causing many devastating crop diseases with huge economic losses, but also threatening human and livestock health by producing mycotoxins. Recently, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has gained much interest as a promising approach to control fungi and mycotoxins. However, the effects of CAP on fungal toxigenicity and pathogenicity were still rarely reported. Herein, this study investigated the influence of CAP on fungal growth, deoxynivalenol (DON) biosynthesis, and pathogenicity of Fusarium spp. both in vitro and in vivo. The in-vitro results show that CAP generated various reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in water, effectively inactivating four major Fusarium strains (2 to 6 log10 reduction) through destructing cell membrane, accumulating intracellular ROS, and depolarizing mitochondrial membrane. Meanwhile, CAP inhibited DON biosynthesis in F. graminearum via reducing acetyl-CoA production, toxisomes formation, and key trichothecene biosynthetic gene (TRI) expression. Further in-vivo results verify that CAP can inactivate fungal spores and reduce DON production on wheat grains, as well as reduce the pathogenicity of Fusarium graminearum in wheat coleoptiles and florets. Overall, these findings provide comprehensive insights into the antifungal and detoxification mechanism of CAP against F. graminearum, which promotes the application of CAP in controlling pathogenic fungus growth and mycotoxin production in grains and crops.