Effects of flusulfamide on spore germination of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Flusulfamide inhibits germination of Plasmodiophora brassicae resting spores to suppress clubroot disease, but its mechanism of action on the germination of P. brassicae resting spores remains unclear. In this study, P. brassicae resting spores were treated with flusulfamide and visualized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The gene expression of P. brassicae resting spores was analyzed using RT-PCR, followed by immunoblotting analysis. TEM results revealed that flusulfamide suppressed the primary zoosporogenesis of P. brassicae resting spores during the early phase, and RT-PCR results revealed that flusulfamide affected the gene expression during the germination of the resting spores. Immunoblot and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that PbCyp3, an immunophilin (peptidyl-prolyl-isomerase) gene, was highly expressed, resulting in the unusual accumulation of PbCYP3 protein in P. brassicae resting spores immediately after treatment with flusulfamide. This suggests that flusulfamide may cause aberrant folding of proteins involved in primary zoosporogenesis, thereby inhibiting germination.