Issue 9, 2023

Comparing the inhibitory effects of CuO-rGO, CuO NPs, and CuCl2 on the oomycete Phytophthora sojae: insights from phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses

Abstract

Phytophthora sojae is an oomycete pathogen that causes significant agricultural losses worldwide, mainly the soybean damping-off and root/stem rot. To counter this, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites (CuO-rGO) have been proposed as a potential solution in nano-agriculture. In this study, we aimed to investigate the inhibitory mechanisms of CuO-rGO, CuO NPs, and CuCl2 on P. sojae through phenotypic and transcriptomic analysis. Even a low concentration of 10 mg Cu2+ L−1, CuO-rGO, CuO NPs, and CuCl2 exhibited remarkable inhibitory effects on the pathogen. This was due to the capacity of these three forms of Cu to induce oxidative stress, which caused disruptions in the mycelial cell membrane, intracellular structure, carbon metabolism, organic acid metabolic processes, and amino acid metabolism. Among them, CuO-rGO showed a better slow-release effect and long-lasting antimicrobial properties, making it more suitable for practical agricultural use. Furthermore, the transcriptomic analysis revealed distinct patterns of antioxidant enzyme-related genes among treatments. Compared to the other two treatments, the CuO-rGO treatment showed higher expression of differential expression genes (DEGs) associated with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxiredoxin (PRDX). The CuO NPs treatment had the most significant expression of DEGs related to catalase (CAT), while the DEGs linked to glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were significantly expressed in the CuCl2 and CuO-rGO treatments. These findings suggest that CuO-rGO has great potential as a practical agricultural agent against oomycete pathogens. Further investigations are essential to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the oxidative stress and antioxidant systems induced by different copper forms in the future.

Graphical abstract: Comparing the inhibitory effects of CuO-rGO, CuO NPs, and CuCl2 on the oomycete Phytophthora sojae: insights from phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 јун. 2023
Accepted
28 јул. 2023
First published
31 јул. 2023

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023,10, 2299-2311

Comparing the inhibitory effects of CuO-rGO, CuO NPs, and CuCl2 on the oomycete Phytophthora sojae: insights from phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses

T. Li, Y. Li, P. Qin, G. Wei and C. Chen, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2023, 10, 2299 DOI: 10.1039/D3EN00363A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements