Chlorine Dioxide Controls Green Mold Caused by Penicillium digitatum in Citrus Fruits and the Mechanism Involved.

Green mold caused by Penicillium digitatum is the main postharvest disease in citrus fruits. The goal of this study is to evaluate the antifungal activity of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) against P. digitatum both in vivo and in vitro and to elucidate the underlying mechanism using flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that 200-1800 mg/L of ClO2 significantly inhibited the incidence of green mold on kumquats, mandarins, Peru's oranges, and grapefruits caused by P. digitatum. Additionally, 200 mg/L of ClO2 significantly induced cell apoptosis of P. digitatum by increasing the fluorescence intensity of the mitochondrial membrane potential from 118 to 1225 and decreased the living cell rate from 96.8 to 6.1%. Further study demonstrated that the content of malondialdehyde and nucleic acid leakage (OD260) of P. digitatum markedly increased, and the mycelial morphology was seriously damaged with increased ClO2 concentration. These results indicated that ClO2 could inhibit fungal growth by destroying the membrane integrity of P. digitatum, and the use of ClO2 may be an alternative strategy to control green mold in postharvest citrus fruits.

[1]  David J. Smith,et al.  Distribution and Chemical Fate of [36Cl]Chlorine Dioxide Gas on Avocados, Eggs, Onions, and Sweet Potatoes. , 2020, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[2]  J. Ryu,et al.  Antimicrobial activity of gaseous chlorine dioxide against Aspergillus flavus on green coffee beans. , 2020, Food microbiology.

[3]  J. Uthaibutra,et al.  Gaseous chlorine dioxide increases energy status and energy metabolism-related enzyme activities leading to reduction in pericarp browning of longan fruit during storage , 2020 .

[4]  S. Tian,et al.  Chlorine dioxide delays the reddening of postharvest green peppers by affecting the chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid synthesis pathways , 2019, Postharvest Biology and Technology.

[5]  Y. Ran,et al.  Chlorine Dioxide Generation Method and Its Action Mechanism for Removing Harmful Substances and Maintaining Quality Attributes of Agricultural Products , 2019, Food and Bioprocess Technology.

[6]  T. Fill,et al.  Penicillium digitatum infection mechanisms in citrus: What do we know so far? , 2019, Fungal biology.

[7]  Y. Bi,et al.  A comparison of postharvest physiology, quality and volatile compounds of ‘Fuji’ and ‘Delicious’ apples inoculated with Penicillium expansum , 2019, Postharvest Biology and Technology.

[8]  J. H. Hasperué,et al.  Non-chemical treatments for preventing the postharvest fungal rotting of citrus caused by Penicillium digitatum (green mold) and Penicillium italicum (blue mold) , 2019, Trends in Food Science & Technology.

[9]  Jian Wang,et al.  Application of chlorine dioxide microcapsule sustained-release antibacterial films for preservation of mangos , 2019, Journal of Food Science and Technology.

[10]  H. Mo,et al.  Antifungal Actions of Glycinin Basic Peptide against Aspergillus niger through the Collaborative Damage to Cell Membrane and Mitochondria , 2019, Food Biophysics.

[11]  Boqiang Li,et al.  Inhibitory of grey mold on green pepper and winter jujube by chlorine dioxide (ClO2) fumigation and its mechanisms , 2019, LWT.

[12]  S. Maddila,et al.  Chlorine dioxide inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in water: The kinetics and mechanism , 2018, Journal of Water Process Engineering.

[13]  M. Fu,et al.  Inhibitory effect of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) fumigation on growth and patulin production and its mechanism in Penicillum expansum , 2018, LWT.

[14]  E. Baldwin,et al.  Effect of controlled-release chlorine dioxide on the quality and safety of cherry/grape tomatoes , 2017 .

[15]  P. Sánchez-Torres,et al.  Involvement of Penicillium digitatum PdSUT1 in fungicide sensitivity and virulence during citrus fruit infection. , 2017, Microbiological research.

[16]  S. Sollott,et al.  Mitochondrial membrane potential. , 2017, Analytical biochemistry.

[17]  Hongye Li,et al.  The citrus postharvest pathogen Penicillium digitatum depends on the PdMpkB kinase for developmental and virulence functions. , 2016, International journal of food microbiology.

[18]  Aman Ullah Malik,et al.  Postharvest l-cysteine application delayed pericarp browning, suppressed lipid peroxidation and maintained antioxidative activities of litchi fruit , 2016 .

[19]  R. Auras,et al.  Evaluation of chlorine dioxide as an antimicrobial against Botrytis cinerea in California strawberries , 2016 .

[20]  Ying Zhu,et al.  Isolation and characterization of a novel mycovirus from Penicillium digitatum. , 2016, Virology.

[21]  W. Ernst,et al.  Chloroxyanion Residues in Cantaloupe and Tomatoes after Chlorine Dioxide Gas Sanitation. , 2015, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[22]  Guoxing Jing,et al.  Citral exerts its antifungal activity against Penicillium digitatum by affecting the mitochondrial morphology and function. , 2015, Food chemistry.

[23]  Xiaofei Zhao,et al.  Effects of Combined Aqueous Chlorine Dioxide and Chitosan Coatings on Microbial Growth and Quality Maintenance of Fresh-Cut Bamboo Shoots (Phyllostachys praecox f. prevernalis.) During Storage , 2015, Food and Bioprocess Technology.

[24]  N. Tao,et al.  Octanal incorporated in postharvest wax of Satsuma mandarin fruit as a botanical fungicide against Penicillium digitatum , 2014 .

[25]  C. Piperi,et al.  A new model for mitochondrial membrane potential production and storage. , 2014, Medical Hypotheses.

[26]  Jide Wang,et al.  Effects of chlorine dioxide treatment on respiration rate and ethylene synthesis of postharvest tomato fruit , 2014 .

[27]  N. Tao,et al.  Anti-fungal activity of Citrus reticulata Blanco essential oil against Penicillium italicum and Penicillium digitatum. , 2014, Food chemistry.

[28]  J. Usall,et al.  Acidification of apple and orange hosts by Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium expansum. , 2014, International journal of food microbiology.

[29]  M. Morgan,et al.  Use of chlorine dioxide gas for the postharvest control of Alternaria alternata and Stemphylium vesicarium on Roma tomatoes. , 2013, Journal of the science of food and agriculture.

[30]  V. Sharma,et al.  Reactivity of chlorine dioxide with amino acids, peptides, and proteins , 2012, Environmental Chemistry Letters.

[31]  Chuanhe Zhu,et al.  Effects of aqueous chlorine dioxide treatment on nutritional components and shelf-life of mulberry fruit (Morus alba L.). , 2011, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[32]  S. Kang,et al.  Trachyspermum ammi (L.) fruit essential oil influencing on membrane permeability and surface characteristics in inhibiting food-borne pathogens , 2011 .

[33]  Jianrong Lin,et al.  Inactivation and mechanisms of chlorine dioxide on Nosema bombycis. , 2010, Journal of invertebrate pathology.

[34]  Jeyong Yoon,et al.  Mechanisms of Escherichia coli inactivation by several disinfectants. , 2010, Water research.

[35]  Yong Xu,et al.  Effects of chitosan on control of postharvest diseases and physiological responses of tomato fruit , 2007 .

[36]  E. Baldwin,et al.  Applications of gaseous chlorine dioxide on postharvest handling and storage of fruits and vegetables – A review , 2019, Food Control.

[37]  Xin Zhou,et al.  Inhibiting effects of epsilon-poly-lysine (ε-PL) on Pencillium digitatum and its involved mechanism , 2017 .