In the current study, a total of 53 isolates of Alternaria brassicicola collected from Shaanxi Province of China were characterized for their sensitivity to propamidine. The EC50 (50% effective concentration) values for propamidine inhibiting mycelial growth and spore germination ranged from 0.515 to 3.247 µg/ml and 0.393 to 2.982 µg/ml, with average EC50 values of 1.327 ± 0.198 µg/ml and 1.106 ± 0.113 µg/ml, respectively. In greenhouse experiments, propamidine at 100 µg/ml provided >90% efficacy against dark leaf spot on cabbage, which was higher than the efficacy obtained by azoxystrobin at the same concentration. After treatment with propamidine, fungal growth distortions were observed in the form of excess mycelial branching, thickened cell walls, decreased cell membrane permeability, and increased chitin content. Interestingly, colony color faded after treatment with propamidine compared with that of the untreated parental isolates. Importantly, the expressions of melanin biosynthesis-associated genes Amr1, Scd1, Brn1, and Brn2 were downregulated at different levels. The obtained baseline sensitivity and control efficacy data suggested that propamidine inhibited not only growth of A. brassicicola but also melanin biosynthesis, which could reduce the biocompatibility of A. brassicicola in the field. These biological characteristics encourage further investigation of the mechanism of action of propamidine against A. brassicicola.
Keywords: Alternaria brassicicola; action mechanism; baseline sensitivity; propamidine.