Effects of Mycotoxin Fumagillin, Mevastatin, Radicicol, and Wortmannin on Photosynthesis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Bibliographic Details
Title: Effects of Mycotoxin Fumagillin, Mevastatin, Radicicol, and Wortmannin on Photosynthesis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Jiale Shi, Mengyun Jiang, He Wang, Zhi Luo, Yanjing Guo, Ying Chen, Xiaoxi Zhao, Sheng Qiang, Reto Jörg Strasser, Hazem M. Kalaji, Shiguo Chen
Source: Plants, Vol 12, Iss 3, p 665 (2023)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Botany
Subject Terms: natural product, photosynthetic inhibitor, mode of action, JIP-test, molecular docking, D1 protein, Botany, QK1-989
More Details: Mycotoxins are one of the most important sources for the discovery of new pesticides and drugs because of their chemical structural diversity and fascinating bioactivity as well as unique novel targets. Here, the effects of four mycotoxins, fumagillin, mevastatin, radicicol, and wortmannin, on photosynthesis were investigated to identify their precise sites of action on the photosynthetic apparatus of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Our results showed that these four mycotoxins have multiple targets, acting mainly on photosystem II (PSII). Their mode of action is similar to that of diuron, inhibiting electron flow beyond the primary quinone electron acceptor (QA) by binding to the secondary quinone electron acceptor (QB) site of the D1 protein, thereby affecting photosynthesis. The results of PSII oxygen evolution rate and chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence imaging suggested that fumagillin strongly inhibited overall PSII activity; the other three toxins also exhibited a negative influence at the high concentration. Chl a fluorescence kinetics and the JIP test showed that the inhibition of electron transport beyond QA was the most significant feature of the four mycotoxins. Fumagillin decreased the rate of O2 evolution by interrupting electron transfer on the PSII acceptor side, and had multiple negative effects on the primary photochemical reaction and PSII antenna size. Mevastatin caused a decrease in photosynthetic activity, mainly due to the inhibition of electron transport. Both radicicol and wortmannin decreased photosynthetic efficiency, mainly by inhibiting the electron transport efficiency of the PSII acceptor side and the activity of the PSII reaction centers. In addition, radicicol reduced the primary photochemical reaction efficiency and antenna size. The simulated molecular model of the four mycotoxins’ binding to C. reinhardtii D1 protein indicated that the residue D1-Phe265 is their common site at the QB site. This is a novel target site different from those of commercial PSII herbicides. Thus, the interesting effects of the four mycotoxins on PSII suggested that they provide new ideas for the design of novel and efficient herbicide molecules.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2223-7747
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/3/665; https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7747
DOI: 10.3390/plants12030665
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/a0a8632831694468982d90f9acd0b390
Accession Number: edsdoj.0a8632831694468982d90f9acd0b390
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22237747
DOI:10.3390/plants12030665
Published in:Plants
Language:English