Status of Phytotoxins Isolated from Necrotrophic Fungi Causing Diseases on Grain Legumes

Fungal phytotoxins can be defined as secondary metabolites toxic to host plants and are believed to be involved in the symptoms developed of a number of plant diseases by targeting host cellular machineries or interfering with host immune responses. As any crop, legumes can be affected by a number of fungal diseases, causing severe yield losses worldwide. In this review, we report and discuss the isolation, chemical, and biological characterization of fungal phytotoxins produced by the most important necrotrophic fungi involved in legume diseases. Their possible role in plant-pathogen interaction and structure-toxicity relationship studies have also been reported and discussed. Moreover, multidisciplinary studies on other prominent biological activity conducted on reviewed phytotoxins are described. Finally, we explore the challenges in the identification of new fungal metabolites and their possible applications in future experiments.

Automated summary

Fungal phytotoxins, as secondary metabolites toxic to host plants, play a role in the development of symptoms in legume diseases by targeting host cellular machineries or interfering with host immune responses. This review focuses on the isolation, chemical and biological characterization of fungal phytotoxins produced by necrotrophic fungi involved in legume diseases. The possible role in plant-pathogen interaction and structure-toxicity relationship studies are also discussed. Additionally, multidisciplinary studies on other biological activities of reviewed phytotoxins are described, along with the challenges in identifying new fungal metabolites and their potential applications in future experiments.