| Popis: |
Fungal plant diseases are one of the major issues faced by the agriculture because of the considerable losses they cause. Due to the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals to control the microorganisms that cause infection and diseases, this issue has become an environmental health problem of global magnitude. Therefore, the use of naturally friendly methods to control them becomes more urgent every day, and among these, the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi is one of the most prized strategies. This paper reviews the main mechanisms proposed and the beneficial effects observed when chitinous materials are employed to control fungal diseases in plants, including the following: (i) occurrence of a fertilizer effect, (ii) indirect inhibition of the pathogens via their decomposition by-products, (iii) stimulating/supporting growth of profitable microorganisms, and (iv) elicitor activity of chitin. A remarked tendency has been observed in the production of chitinolytic enzymes with fungicidal activity by using genetic engineering and molecular biology techniques, either by overexpression of them by heterologous organisms or by producing genetically modified plants more resistant to specific fungal pathogens. |
