Info

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN-EID) INTERFUTURE grant infomation:

Call: H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016

Grant Agreement: n. 722642

Title project: From microbial interactions to new-concept biopesticides and biofertilizers

Coordinator: Michele Perazzolli

Funding: EU under project number H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 - 722642

Timeframe: 01.12.2016-31.05.2021

University/Department: Fondazione Edmund Mach, Department of Sustainable Agroecosystems and Bioresources

Network Partners: Fondazione Edmund Mach (Coordinator), Italy; University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France; University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences , Austria; University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK; University of Molise, Italy; BIOBEST, Belgium; BIPA NV, Belgium; INOQ GmbH, Germany; Azotic Technologies Ltd, UK; De Ceuster Meststoffen NV (DCM), Belgium; e-nema GmbH, germany; University of Trento, Italy

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Rare Sugars: Recent Advances and Their Potential Role in Sustainable Crop Protection

Molecules 2021, 26(6), 1720; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26061720

Rare Sugars: Recent Advances and Their Potential Role in Sustainable Crop Protection

     

Nikola Mijailovic, Andrea Nesler, Michele Perazzolli, Essaid Aït Barka, Aziz Aziz

INFORMATIVE ABSTRACT - Among the various monosaccharides, rare sugars are those with a lower availability in nature, and the ones whose biological functions are mostly yet to be discovered. Fortunately, the use of industrial enzyme and microbial processes has greatly reduced production costs, making research on these molecules more accessible, and so a lot of studies on medical and clinical applications of rare sugars have been done in recent years. These studies found that rare sugars could replace conventional sugars in human nutrition, but also could be used as a contrast agent of plant diseases, contributing to plant defence against pests and pathogens, so rare sugars are beginning to be studied also in the agricultural field. In particular, some rare sugars are able to regulate plant growth, stimulate crop resistance, inhibit plant pathogens, control insects and nematodes with large potential for applications in crop management and protection.

sugar

That’s the starting point of this study. In fact, there is a lack of information on the effects of rare sugars on the organisms of the farming ecosystem, and particularly about their mode of action and their possible practical use as an innovative tool for sustainable agriculture. The research aims to understand better the functioning mechanism within rare sugars.
The findings suggests, as was easily predictable, that some rare sugars can impact the plant growth and immune responses by affecting metabolic homeostasis and the hormonal signaling pathways. According to this discovery, rare sugars could be used for the development of new herbicides, plant growth regulators and resistance inducers. Other rare sugars showed antinutritional properties on some phytopathogens and biocidal activity against some plant pests, highlighting their promising potential for the development of new sustainable pesticides and biofungicides, considering also their low risk for human health.
However, deep studies are required to further explore their practical application.