Sandun Fernando

Fungal diseases, including downy mildew (caused by Plasmopara viticola) and gray mold (caused by Botrytis cinerea), significantly impact the marketable yield of grapes produced worldwide. Cytochrome b of the mitochondrial respiratory chain of these two fungi is a key target for Quinone outside inhibitor (QoI)-based fungicide development. Since the mode of action (MOA) of QoI fungicides is restricted to a single site, the extensive usage of these fungicides has resulted in fungicide resistance. The use of fungicide combinations with multiple targets is an effective way to counter and slow down the development of fungicide resistance. Due to the high cost of in planta trials, in silico techniques can be used for the rapid screening of potential fungicides. In this study, a combination of in silico simulations that include Schrödinger Glide docking, molecular dynamics, and Molecular Mechanism-Generalized Born Surface Area calculation were used to screen the most potent QoI and non-QoI-based fungicide combinations to wild-type, G143A-mutated, F129L-mutated, and double-mutated versions that had both G143A and F129L mutations of fungal cytochrome b. In silico docking studies indicated that mandestrobin, famoxadone, captan, and thiram have a high affinity toward WT cytochrome b of Botrytis cinerea. Although the QoIs mandestrobin and famoxadone were effective for WT based on in vitro results, they were not broadly effective against G143A-mutated isolates. Famoxadone was only effective against one isolate with G143A-mutated cytochrome b. The non-QoI fungicides thiram and captan were effective against both WT and isolates with G143A-mutated cytochrome b. Follow-up in silico docking and molecular dynamics studies suggested that fungicide combinations consisting of famoxadone, mandestrobin, fenamidone, and thiram should be considered in field testing targeting Plasmopara viticola and Botrytis cinerea fungicide resistance.