AIM To overcome fludioxonil resistance of Penicillium expansum, a mycotoxigenic fungal pathogen causing postharvest decay in apple, by using natural phenolic chemosensitizing agents. METHODS AND RESULTS Fludioxonil-resistant mutants of P. expansum were co-treated with different oxidising and natural phenolic agents. Resistance was overcome by natural phenolic chemosensitizing agents targeting...

The genus Fusarium comprises a high number of fungal species that can be plant-pathogenic, causing diseases in several agriculturally important crops including cereals, and also can be harmful for humans and animals since many of them are toxigenic. The identification of mycotoxigenic Fusarium species still remains a most critical issue, given that the number of species recognized in the genus ...

Preparation of (S)-1-chloro-2-octanol and (S)-1-bromo-2-octanol was carried out by the enzymatic hydrolysis of halohydrin palmitates using biocatalysts. Halohydrin palmitates were prepared by various methods from palmitic acid and 1,2-octanediol. A tandem hydrolysis was carried out using lipases from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435), Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM), and "resting cells" from a R...

New findings challenge the traditional view of the plant cell wall as passive structural barrier to invasion by fungal microorganisms. A surveillance system for cell wall integrity appears to sense perturbation of the cell wall structure upon fungal attack and is interconnected with known plant defence signalling pathways. Biotrophic fungi might manipulate this surveillance system for the estab...