Multi-Omics Analyses Reveal the Antifungal Mechanism of Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid Against Pseudogymnoascus destructans
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an infectious disease of bats caused by the psychrophilic fungus <i>Pseudogymnoascus destructans</i>. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) is a microbial secondary metabolite with broad-spectrum antifungal activity. Previous studies show that PCA suppresses the growth of <i>P. destructans</i> at low concentrations, yet its mechanism remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the in vitro antifungal activity of PCA. We then investigated its potential mechanism using physiological and biochemical assays, as well as integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. PCA showed effective antifungal activity against <i>P. destructans</i> (EC<sub>50</sub> = 32.9 μg/mL). Physiological and biochemical assays indicated that PCA perturbed cell wall organization and increased membrane permeability, leading to leakage of intracellular contents. It also induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis. Multi-omics integration revealed that PCA markedly perturbed cell wall and membrane metabolism, virulence factor expression, and energy metabolism. It provoked oxidative stress while downregulating genes involved in the cell cycle, DNA replication, and repair. Together, these findings delineate the inhibitory effects of PCA on <i>P. destructans</i> in vitro, provide initial mechanistic insights into its antifungal action, and suggest that PCA merits further evaluation as a possible component of environmentally compatible strategies for WNS management.
Authors
- Zihao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7443-6515)
- Y. Y. Ji
- Zhongle Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2137-9967)
- Ting Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5911-6097)
- Shaopeng Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4822-5543)
- Keping Sun
- Jiaqi Lu
- Jiang Feng
- Zhouyu Jin
Institutions
- Northeast Normal University (CN)
- Jilin Agricultural University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Fungi
- Published
- 2025-12-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010016
- Primary Topic
- Bat Biology and Ecology Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00