Development of novel molecules for the control of plant pathogenic fungi in agriculture

Abstract

More than 100 different fungicide molecules are in use with global market value of more than US$ 10 billion. These molecules were selected by random screening and might be with little knowledge about their mode of action on the fungi. A variety of technologies have given us different molecules like Triazoles, Imidazole, Morpholines, etc. to combat fungal pathogens. However, rapid development of resistance by fungi to these classes of molecules has generated further quest for new agrochemical fungicides. The obvious choice of new target is based on criteria like: (a) should be present in several pathogenic fungi, (b) should be essential for either growth or virulence of fungi, and (c) should be exclusive for fungi, i.e. preferably absent in plants or humans. The nontoxic nature of the molecules to the nontargeted organisms is a major concern too. One of the approaches can be the identification of targets through a combination of bioinformatics, comparative genomics and pathway analysis. The strategies for the identification of the targets, development of novel high throughput screening methods, generation of chemical libraries, performance in the field of lead molecules, etc. will be discussed.