Metabolism of fungicidal cyanooximes, cymoxanil and analogues in various strains of Botrytis cinerea.

BACKGROUND: The metabolism of cymoxanil [1-(2-cyano-2-methoxyiminoacetyl)-3-ethylurea] and fungicidal cyanooxime analogues was monitored on three phenotypes of Botrytis cinerea Pers. ex Fr. differing in their sensitivity towards cymoxanil. For this purpose, labelled [2-(14)C]cymoxanil was added either to the culture medium of these strains or to its cell-free extract. RESULTS: In the culture medium of the most sensitive strain, four main metabolites were detected. Three were isolated and identified. Cymoxanil was quickly metabolised by at least three concurrent enzymatic pathways: (i) cyclisation leading, after hydrolysis, to ethylparabanic acid, (ii) reduction giving demethoxylated cymoxanil, (iii) hydrolysis followed by reduction and then acetylation leading to N-acetylcyanoglycine. In the cell-free extract of the same strain, only the first and the second of these enzymatic reactions occurred. By comparing the metabolic profile of the most sensitive strain with that of the less sensitive ones, it was shown that the decrease in sensitivity to cymoxanil correlates with a reduced acetylcyanoglycine formation. Among all metabolites, only N-acetylcyanoglycine is active against the most sensitive strain. Moreover, in a culture of this strain, two other fungicidal cyanooximes were also metabolised into this metabolite. CONCLUSION: The formation of N-acetylcyanoglycine may play an important role in the fungitoxicity of cymoxanil and cyanooxime derivatives.

Characterization of metabolites of fungicidal cymoxanil in a sensitive strain of Botrytis cinerea.

The metabolism of cymoxanil [1-(2-cyano-2-methoxyiminoacetyl)-3-ethyl urea] by a very sensitive strain of Botrytis cinerea toward this fungicide was studied by using [2-(14)C]-cymoxanil. Labeled cymoxanil was added either in a culture of this strain or in its enzymatic extract. The main metabolites, detected in biological samples, were isolated and identified by mass and NMR spectrometry. Their identification allowed us to show that this strain quickly metabolized cymoxanil according to at least three enzymatic pathways: (i) cyclization leading, after hydrolysis, to ethyl parabanic acid, (ii) reduction giving demethoxylated cymoxanil, and (iii) hydrolysis and reduction followed by acetylation leading to N-acetylcyanoglycine. In a cell-free extract of the same strain, only the first and the second enzymatic reactions, quoted above, occurred. Biological tests showed that, among all the metabolites, only N-acetylcyanoglycine is fungitoxic toward this sensitive strain.

Mechanisms of resistance to fungicides in field strains of Botrytis cinerea.

Field strains of Botrytis cinerea Pers ex Fr, the causal agent of grey mould diseases, were collected from French vineyards between 1993 and 2000. Several phenotypes have been characterized according to the inhibitory effects of fungicides towards germ-tube elongation and mycelial growth. Two types of benzimidazole-resistant strains (Ben R1 and Ben R2) could be detected; negative cross-resistance to phenylcarbamates (e.g. diethofencarb) was only found in Ben R1. Benzimidazole resistance was related to point mutations at codon 198 (Ben R1) or 200 (Ben R2) of the beta-tubulin gene. Most dicarboximide-resistant strains were also weakly resistant to aromatic hydrocarbon fungicides (e.g. dicloran) but remained sensitive to phenylpyrroles (e.g. fludioxonil). These resistant field strains (Imi R1) contained a single base pair mutation at position 365 in a two-component histidine kinase gene, probably involved in the fungal osmoregulation. Three anilinopyrimidine-resistant phenotypes have been identified. In the most resistant one (Ani R1), resistance was restricted to anilinopyrimidines, but no differences were observed in the amino-acid sequences of cystathionine beta-lyase (the potential target site of these fungicides) from Ani R1 or wild-type strains. In the two other phenotypes (Ani R2 and Ani R3), resistance extended to various other groups of fungicide, including dicarboximides, phenylpyrroles and sterol biosynthesis inhibitors. This multi-drug resistance was probably determined by over-production of ATP-binding cassette transporters. The hydroxyanilide fenhexamid is a novel botryticide whose primary target site is the 3-keto reductase involved in sterol C-4 demethylations. Apart from the multi-drug-resistant strain Ani R3, three other fenhexamid-resistant phenotypes have been recognized. For two of them (Hyd R1 and Hyd R2) fenhexamid-resistance seemed to result from P450-mediated detoxification. Reduced sensitivity of the target site could be the putative resistance mechanism operating in the third resistant phenotype (Hyd R3). Increased sensitivity to inhibitors of sterol 14 alpha-demethylase recorded in Hyd R1 strains was related to two amino-acid changes at positions 15 and 105 of this enzyme.

Metabolism of cymoxanil and analogs in strains of the fungus Botrytis cinerea using high-performance liquid chromatography and ion-pair high-performance thin-layer chromatography.

The metabolism of cyano-oxime fungicide 1-(2-cyano-2-methoxyiminoacetyl)-3-ethylurea (cymoxanil) and analogs was studied on several strains of the fungus Botrytis cinerea owing to their difference in sensitivity towards cymoxanil. Chromatographic analysis of the unextracted culture medium was simpler and more accurate, particularly for ionizable metabolites because it avoids problems associated with extraction. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was applied to compare the decrease of cymoxanil and analogs caused by different strains of B. cinerea, by periodic injections of incubated culture medium aliquots, directly on a C4 wide-pore column. Furthermore, a thin-layer chromatographic monitoring on C18 bonded silica gel with ion-pairing allowed the monitoring of the ionizable metabolites for substrates that were demonstrated to decompose most rapidly. These complementary analyses showed that the sensitivity of the highly sensitive strain towards cymoxanil was related to the disappearance of cyano-oximes studied from culture medium, namely to the ability of the strain B. cinerea to metabolize them.