Eco-Friendly Biocontrol Strategies of Alternaria Phytopathogen Fungus: A Focus on Gene-Editing Techniques

Domingo Cesar Carrascal-Hernández, Edwin Flórez-López, Yeimmy Peralta-Ruiz, Clemencia Chaves-López and Carlos David Grande-Tovar ()
Additional contact information
Domingo Cesar Carrascal-Hernández: Grupo de Investigación en Fotoquímica y Fotobiología, Programa de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Atlántico, Puerto Colombia 081008, Colombia
Edwin Flórez-López: Grupo de Investigación en Química y Biotecnología QUIBIO, Universidad Santiago de Cali, Calle 5 No 62-00, Cali 760035, Colombia
Yeimmy Peralta-Ruiz: Facultad de Ingeniería, Programa de Ingeniería Agroindustrial, Universidad del Atlántico, Carrera 30 Número 8-49, Puerto Colombia 081008, Colombia
Clemencia Chaves-López: Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Via R. Balzarini 1, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Carlos David Grande-Tovar: Grupo de Investigación en Fotoquímica y Fotobiología, Programa de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Atlántico, Puerto Colombia 081008, Colombia

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: Agricultural food production is greatly affected by postharvest diseases worldwide, such as the diseases caused by Alternaria species, which are very common in several crops. The management of fungal infections around the world largely relies on fungicides. In this context, the control of diseases such as early blight caused by Alternaria solani in potatoes and Alternaria linariae in tomatoes has mainly consisted of the application of fungicides, with negative impacts on the environment and human health. Recently, the application of ‘omics’ and gene editing through the CRISPR/Cas9 system and RNAi technologies demonstrated their effectiveness as emerging greener alternatives for controlling phytopathogenic fungi. Additionally, coatings based on essential oils and microbial antagonists suggest alternative strategies for controlling phytopathogenic fungi that are respectful of the environment. This review presents an exhaustive literature review focused on using greener alternatives to the traditional management of postharvest diseases associated with Alternaria species, such as inhibiting pathogenicity from their phytopathogenic genes using gene editing based on CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAi technologies. The review also presents coatings based on essential oils and microbial antagonists as greener strategies for Alternaria control. Biological processes of maximum efficiency can replace chemical methods for controlling phytopathogenic fungi, preserving healthy conditions in agricultural lands and ecosystems. This is possible with the rise of ‘omic’ technologies, the CRISPR/Cas9 tool, and RNAi technology. Greener control methods of Alternaria fungi can increase agricultural production, improving the economy and global health.

Keywords: Alternaria control; CRISPR/Cas9; leaf spot; phytopathogenic genes; RNAi; postharvest disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/10/1722/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/10/1722/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:10:p:1722-:d:946919

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().