Antibacterial mechanism of Biochanin A and its efficacy for the control of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines in soybean.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines (Xag) is a hazardous pathogen able to cause bacterial pustule disease in soybean, reducing crop yield and quality. Although flavonoids rutin and genistein are known to play an important role in soybean defence, soybean is only able to produce Biochanin A in low concentration. RESULTS: In this work, Biochanin A was found to produce higher antibacterial activity against Xag in comparison with genistein (minimum inhibitory concentration < 100 µg/mL). Biochanin A was able to inhibit DNA synthesis and flagella formation in Xag, and altered the composition of the bacterial membrane. These effects reduced swimming motility, extracellular protease activity and biofilm formation. Further, Biochanin A was tested for the control of Xag in soybean leaves, showing similar, or even higher, inhibitory ability in comparison with some products commonly used for the control of this pathogen. CONCLUSIONS: The antibacterial properties of Biochanin A against Xag have been studied for the first time, revealing new insights on the potential applications of this isoflavonoid for the management of bacterial pustule disease. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.