Sodium trans-2-hexenylate damages the mitochondrial function of Penicillium digitaum and plays a significant role in citrus fruit postharvest disease control

Huge postharvest citrus infections are produced by Penicillium digitatum . The antifungal activity of sodium trans -2-hexenylate (STH) against the P. digitatum growth and possible mechanism were investigated. The minimal inhibitory and fungicidal concentrations of STH against P. digitatum were 0.4 and 0.8 g L –1 , respectively. STH decreased the green mold incidence of Ponkan fruit without negatively impacting fruit quality. STH altered and distorted the external appearance of P. digitatum mycelia rather than the cell wall. Correspondingly, STH decreased the lipid and ergosterol levels while degrading the cell membrane integrity. Meanwhile, STH affected mitochondrial function by lowering the mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) and ATP levels, as well as malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activities. Furthermore, MMP damage occurred earlier than that of cell membrane damage. Our current study showed that STH may be an acceptable substitute to chemical fungicide in postharvest disease control in citrus fruit and its underlying inhibitory mechanism is attributed to its ability to impair the mitochondrial function of P. digitatum .