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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbial Physiology and Metabolism
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1533918

Menthone lowers H3K27ac levels to inhibit Fusarium proliferatum growth

Provisionally accepted
Xian Dong Xian Dong 1*Li-Yan Zhang Li-Yan Zhang 1Tian-Tian Li Tian-Tian Li 1Hong-Xin Liao Hong-Xin Liao 1Jin-Rui Wen Jin-Rui Wen 1Hong-Yan Nie Hong-Yan Nie 1Furong Xu Furong Xu 1Xiaoyun Liu Xiaoyun Liu 2
  • 1 Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China
  • 2 Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Backgr ound The antifungal properties of essential oils (EOs) and their active constituents have been well documented. Histone acetylation is pivotal in modulating gene expression and influences biological processes in living organisms.This study demonstrated that menthone, the primary component of Mentha haplocalyx EO, exhibited notable antifungal activity against Fusarium proliferatum (EC50 = 6.099 mmol/L). The treatment significantly inhibited hyphal growth, reduced spore germination rates from 31.49% to 4.95%, decreased spore viability from 46.88% to 20.91%, and reduced spore production by a factor of 17.92 compared with the control group while simultaneously enhancing cell membrane permeability.However, the direct relationship between menthone and histone acetylation in inhibiting F. proliferatum remains nebulous. Our RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis identified 7,332 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the control and menthone-treated groups, 3,442 upregulated and 3,880 downregulated, primarily enriched in pathways related to ribosome biogenesis and energy metabolism.Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis revealed that menthone inhibited the growth of F. proliferatum by decreasing H3K27ac levels and interfering with the transcription of energy metabolism-related genes. By integrating the RNA-seq data with the ChIP-seq results, we identified 110 DEGs associated with reduced H3K27ac modification primarily associated with ribosome biogenesis.Menthone affected the growth of F. proliferatum by reducing the expression of ribosome biogenesis-related genes (FPRO_06392, FPRO_01260, FPRO_10795, and 3Conclusions This study elucidated the mechanism by which menthone inhibits F. proliferatum growth from a histone acetylation modification perspective, providing insights into its application as an antifungal agent to prevent root rot in Panax notoginseng.

    Keywords: Antifungal activity, Ribosomes, Histone Deacetylases, Root rot disease, Panax notoginseng

    Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 03 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Dong, Zhang, Li, Liao, Wen, Nie, Xu and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xian Dong, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.