Biocontrol potential of the active substance isolated from the endophytic fungus Aa-Lcht against apple Valsa canker

Apple Valsa canker (AVC), primarily caused by the pathogenic fungus Valsa mali , is a devastating disease of apple. The development and application of high efficiency and low toxicity fungicides are of great significance for disease control. Natural active substances serve as a vital foundation for the development of novel green fungicides. In previous studies, the endophytic fungus Aa-Lcht was confirmed to contain specific inhibitory effect against V. mali . This study confirmed that Aa-Lcht fermentation broth (FB)’s suppression of V. mali growth and conidial germination, exhibiting AVC prevention. Through extraction, isolation, and purification, one active substance with high inhibitory effect on V. mali was obtained and identified as altenusin. Its concentration value for 50 % of maximal effect (EC 50 values) against V. mali mycelium growth was 3.118 μg/mL. Before V. mali infection, the lesion length of apple twigs and lesion area of fruits pretreated with altenusin decreased by 47.27 % and 80.52 %, respectively. Further research revealed that the hyphae of V. mali treated with altenusin exhibited irregular thickening of cell walls, severe vacuolation within the cells, and protoplasmic exudation. Meanwhile, transcriptome analysis indicated that altenusin primarily inhibited V. mali by interfering with the normal hyphal cell metabolism, substance degradation, peptidase activity, and proteolysis functions. Additionally, altenusin could also significantly up-regulate the expression of immunity resistance-related genes MdCYP81F2 , MdPR2 , MdPR4 , and MdPR5 in apple. Summarizing the above, the altenusin provides valuable insights for the development of novel green fungicides for controlling AVC disease, contributing to the safe and healthy development of apple production.