Funding: American Vineyard Foundation
Department of Project: Microbiology department and Stockbridge School
of Agriculture
Two fungal diseases, Eutypa dieback and Esca complex, cause economic losses in grapevines. They involve fungal consortia that deteriorate the wood in grapevine trunks. The process behind this wood tissue degradation is not well understood. Our study focused on the metabolites produced by these fungal consortia and their role in generating oxygen radicals, potentially contributing to trunk decay and pathogenesis. Unique metabolites were identified, some reducing iron and others involved in generating hydrogen peroxide. The metabolite profiles differed when fungi were grown separately versus in consortia. We propose that this mechanism may be linked to the deterioration of grapevine trunk wood in these diseases.
G. Perez-Gonzalez, D. Sebestyen, E. Petit, J. Jellison, L. Mugnai, E. Gelhaye, N. Lee, S. Farine, C. Bertsch, B. Goodell. 2022. Oxygen radical-generating metabolites secreted by Eutypa and Esca fungal consortia: Understanding the mechanisms behind grapevine wood deterioration and pathogenesis. Frontiers in Plant Science 13
B. Goodell, J. Jellison and E. Petit. 2019. Mechanistic overview of the chelator-mediated Fenton (CMF) system in brown rot fungi and its potential role in fungal grapevine trunk diseases. p. 414. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 58(2): 395-449. 7.
