Comparative analysis of alkyl resorcinols in sugarcane cultivars and evaluation of possible protective effect against fungal pathogens

• Grant number: 15/11339-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Alberto Jose Cavalheiro
• Grantee: Aline Ferrari Pauletto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07600-3 - CIBFar - Center for Innovation in Biodiversity and Drug Discovery, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Sugarcane is a plant of great importance for the Brazilian economy, mainly in the production of ethanol and sugar. This plant is subject to several diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses, that compromise its productivity and the economy. Although there are varieties of sugarcane that are pathogen resistant, the molecular basis of this resistance is unknown and studies aimed at establishing a relation between the chemical composition and the resistance of the host to the pathogen are underexplored. In a doctorate study recently concluded in our research group, we find the occurrence of alkyl resorcinols in epicuticular wax of cane leaves. These substances have known antimicrobial action and how the epicuticular wax is the first defense of a plant against a pathogen, the study of the relative contents of this compounds in plants with differential resistance to fungus will help in understanding the molecular basis of this interaction. The analysis will be performed by gas chromatography and high efficiency liquid chromatography, aiming to confirm the relation of these substances with sugarcane resistance to pathogenic fungi.