Mousa A. Alghuthaymi

Myconanoparticles: synthesis and their role in phytopathogens management.

Nanotechnology can offer green and eco-friendly alternatives for plant disease management. Apart from being eco-friendly, fungi are used as bio-manufacturing units, which will provide an added benefit in being easy to use, as compared to other microbes. The non-pathogenic nature of some fungal species in combination with the simplicity of production and handling will improve the mass production of silver nanoparticles. Recently, a diverse range of fungi have been screened for their ability to create silver nanoparticles. Mycosynthesis of gold, silver, gold–silver alloy, selenium, tellurium, platinum, palladium, silica, titania, zirconia, quantum dots, usnic acid, magnetite, cadmium telluride and uraninite nanoparticles has also been reported by various researchers. Nanotechnological application in plant pathology is still in the early stages. For example, nanofungicides, nanopesticides and nanoherbicides are being used extensively in agriculture practices. Remote activation and monitoring of intelligent nano-delivery systems can assist agricultural growers of the future to minimize fungicides and pesticides use. Nanoparticle-mediated gene transfer would be useful for improvement of crops resistant to pathogens and pest. This review critically assesses the role of fungi in the synthesis of nanoparticles, the mechanism involved in the synthesis, the effect of different factors on the reduction of metal ions in developing low-cost techniques for the synthesis and recovery of nanoparticles. Moreover, the application of nanoparticles in plant disease control, antimicrobial mechanisms, and nanotoxicity on plant ecosystem and soil microbial communities has also been discussed in detail.

Plant pathogen nanodiagnostic techniques: forthcoming changes?

Plant diseases are among the major factors limiting crop productivity. A first step towards managing a plant disease under greenhouse and field conditions is to correctly identify the pathogen. Current technologies, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR), require a relatively large amount of target tissue and rely on multiple assays to accurately identify distinct plant pathogens. The common disadvantage of the traditional diagnostic methods is that they are time consuming and lack high sensitivity. Consequently, developing low-cost methods to improve the accuracy and rapidity of plant pathogens diagnosis is needed. Nanotechnology, nano particles and quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as essential tools for fast detection of a particular biological marker with extreme accuracy. Biosensor, QDs, nanostructured platforms, nanoimaging and nanopore DNA sequencing tools have the potential to raise sensitivity, specificity and speed of the pathogen detection, facilitate high-throughput analysis, and to be used for high-quality monitoring and crop protection. Furthermore, nanodiagnostic kit equipment can easily and quickly detect potential serious plant pathogens, allowing experts to help farmers in the prevention of epidemic diseases. The current review deals with the application of nanotechnology for quicker, more cost-effective and precise diagnostic procedures of plant diseases. Such an accurate technology may help to design a proper integrated disease management system which may modify crop environments to adversely affect crop pathogens.

Nanobiotechnological strategies for toxigenic fungi and mycotoxin control

Controlling mycotoxin contamination and toxigenic fungi in the global food and feed supply chains are a major challenge to protecting animal and human health. Reducing fungal growth, reproduction, and toxin production by synthetic fungicides is difficult due to environmental pollution and the development of fungal resistance. Also, food and animal feed can become contaminated by fungicide residues. Therefore there is a need to develop a viable strategy to control toxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins. Nanotechnological application in mycotoxicology is still in the early phases. In recent times, extensive research has been done in taking advantage of nanotechnology in developing new antifungal and antimycotoxins nanoformulas. In this chapter, we review the role, contribution, and impact of nanotechnology to control the presence of fungi and mycotoxins in food and in feed. A critical evaluation of the potential antimycotoxins includes nanoparticles, biopolymers, nanogel, nanobinders such as magnetic carbon nanocomposites, nanodiamonds (MND), and montmorillonite nanocomposite. There are also some major knowledge gaps regarding our current understanding of the antifungal mechanisms of nanomaterials. Crops treated with safe nanofungicides treatments will gain added value for a number of reasons—no chemical residues, effective in low dose, reduction in food and feed spoilage and fungal pathogens for benefit to human health—thus sustaining the universal demand for high product quality.

Toxigenic profiles and trinucleotide repeat diversity of Fusarium species isolated from banana fruits

Infesting Fusarium species isolated from banana fruit samples were identified and quantified by morphological, mycotoxicological and molecular tools. A total of 19 Fusarium isolates were obtained: F. semitectum was most predominant (26%), followed by F. proliferatum (16%), F. circinatum (16%), F. chlamydosporum (10.5%), F. solani (10.5%), F. oxysporum (10.5%) and F. thapsinum (5%). Fumonisin B1, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contents were assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Seventeen isolates, belonging to F. chlamydosporum, F. circinatum, F. semitectum, F. solani, F. thapsinum, F. proliferatum and Fusarium spp., produced mycotoxins when cultured on rice medium. Fumonisin was produced by all of the studied Fusarium isolates, except F. oxysporum, at a concentration of over 1 μg/mL. F. citrinium isolates 4 and 5 and F. solani isolate 3 were the most potent producers of deoxynivalenol. We compared the 19 Fusarium isolates based on the bands amplified by 10 microsatellite primers. Of these, seven primers, (TCC)5, (TGG)5, (GTA)5, (ATG)5, (TAC)5, (TGC)5 and (TGT)5, yielded a high number of bands and different mean number of alleles. The similarity level between isolates was calculated using a simple matching coefficient. Dendrograms were constructed by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetical averages (UPGMA). Two main clusters were observed. The interspecific genetic similarity between Fusarium spp. isolates was between 40% and 58% and the intraspecific similarity from 58% to 100%, indicating a high degree of genetic diversity in the tested isolates. Some unexpected genetic similarities were observed among the isolates, indicating non-agreement between morphological and molecular identification of the isolates.

Copper Nanostructures Applications in Plant Protection

Plant pathologists throughout the globe are working closely to develop a powerful solution for food and agricultural commodities protection from diverse pathogens. Nanobiotechnology has great potential in agriculture especially in plant health has been reported. Management of most beneficial micronutrient and pesticides for sustainable crop production is a priority-based area of research in agriculture. Copper nanoparticles are one among the critical nanosubstances because of their diverse characteristics and applications. The present chapter summarizes the modern-day knowledge and the future prospects in the applications of copper nanomaterials in plant pathology studies. Applications involve nanosensors, antibacterial agent, antifungal agent, plant growth promotion, and plant protection. The beneficial and deleterious effects of Cu nanoparticles through enhanced root and shoot length and fruit and crop yield and substantial increase in vegetative biomass of seedlings in different plant species were also explored.

Nano-carbon: Plant Growth Promotion and Protection

Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) such as fullerenes, carbon nanoparticles, fullerol, single-walled carbon nanotubes/multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanohorns, among others, have been in used in agriculture showing positive and adverse effects. Researchers reported both positive and negative effects of carbon nanomaterials on plant system. Some nanoparticles improved the seed germination and stimulated growth parameters in some plants; however, some produced contradictory effects on others. In the current chapter, both positive and negative effects of different CNMs on different plant species were reported. However, this chapter covers the plausible role of carbon-based nanomaterials that can be useful for the delivery of nucleic acid, pesticides, and fertilizers to plants, wastewater treatment, suppression of plant diseases caused by pathogens, and sensing of critical plant molecules with a high level of sensitivity. Carbon nanotubes for the construction of electrochemical sensors dedicated to the environmental monitoring of pesticides are also discussed. The future prospect of carbon nanomaterials is fairly bright as it is a low-cost solution to increase crop promotion and plant protection.

Polymer Inorganic Nanocomposites: A Sustainable Antimicrobial Agents

Certainly there is a vital necessitates to identify such more compounds to present more alternatives to some of the over-used antimicrobial compounds. Some of these new green and/or hybrid composites may reveal antimicrobial efficacy that differ mechanistically from other classical synthetic antimicrobials that being used. Additionally, using green nanotechnology to reduce probable ecological, plant and human health hazards linked with the drug and pesticides industries and use of nano-based agricultural products, and to find more eco-friendly bioactive materials. Biopolymers include plant-derived materials (starch, cellulose, other polysaccharides, proteins), animal products (proteins, polysaccharides), microbial products (polyhydroxybutyrate) and polymers synthesized chemically from naturally derived monomers (polylactic acid, PLA). Uses a combination of active ingredients from polymer inorganic nanocomposites may increase antimicrobial activity, reduce drug and pesticide dose. In the current article, synthesis and characterize a new green and/or hybird polymer inorganic nanocomposites will be reviewed to demonstrate, synthesis characterize, synergistic antimicrobial activity, toxicity and recyclable in soil and water environment, and understood toxicity dynamics of new nanocomposites. As a final point, we will discuss the applications and our future trends on how outlook research should be oriented to contribute in the replacement of synthetic materials with new polymer inorganic nanocomposites.