The Role of Potato Glycoside Alkaloids Mediated Oxidative Stress in Inducing Apoptosis of Wolfberry Root Rot Pathogen Fungi.

Wolfberry () is a vital economic tree species in northwest China, but root rot caused by occurs frequently, which seriously endangers the quality and yield of wolfberry. In this study, potato glycoside alkaloids (PGAs), a plant-derived active substance, were used as materials to explore its inhibitory effect on . By analyzing the changes of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, antioxidant capacity, and apoptosis, the role of PGAs-mediated oxidative stress in inducing apoptosis of was revealed. The findings suggest that PGAs treatment inhibited mycelium growth, reduced biomass and sporulation, and delayed spore germination in . The concentration for 50% of maximal effect (EC) was 1.85 mg/mL. PGAs treatment induced an increase in caspase-3 activity, disrupting the cell membrane of fungi. In addition, PGAs treatment activated NADH oxidase (NOX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), promoted hydrogen peroxide (HO) and superoxide anion (O) accumulation, and decreased ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) activities as well as oxidized glutathione (GSSG), reduced glutathione (GSH), and electron donor NADPH content. In summary, PGAs has a strong inhibitory effect on , and its inhibitory effect may be related to the promotion of ROS accumulation by PGAs, causing the disorder of intracellular redox balance of fungi, the decrease of total antioxidant capacity, and finally the induction of apoptosis. This study provides a new insight into the antifungal mechanism of PGAs against .