Small plant-derived peptides with potent antifungal activity against agriculturally important fungal pathogens have high potential for development as environmentally friendly, sustainable biofungicides

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $980,849 to Donald Danforth Plant Science Center on February 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) to characterize the antifungal activity of three peptides derived from chickpea, determine their mechanisms of action against fungal pathogens, and test their ability to protect pepper plants from Botrytis cinerea (gray mold disease).

The recipient will identify molecules in the fungal cell wall that bind antifungal peptides, determine how these peptides penetrate fungal cells and cause cell death, and compare how the three peptides differ in structure and protective efficacy against gray mold. This work supports development of plant-derived peptides as second-generation sprayable biofungicides with mechanisms of action distinct from conventional fungicides.

Performance occurs in Olivette, Missouri, with a period of performance from February 1, 2026, through January 31, 2030. Michigan State University serves as a sub-recipient and will conduct solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) analysis of Botrytis cinerea cell wall structure and biomolecular organization, including isotopic labeling of fungal cultures, establishment of a structural model of the cell wall, and identification of binding targets for two antifungal peptides developed by the Danforth Center's research team. The sub-award was obligated on March 20, 2026.

Chickpea peptides expressed in nitrogen-fixing nodules exhibit potent antifungal activity against pathogens. IT is important to determine if these peptides provide protection from disease when sprayed on a crop plant and understand the mechanisms by which they kill a fungal pathogen. The overarching goal of the work is to characterize antifungal activity of three different peptides derived from chickpea, determine how they kill a fungal pathogen and test their ability to protect pepper plants from a fungal pathogen botrytis cinerea which causes gray mold disease in vegetable and fruits. We will (I) identify molecules in the fungal cell wall that antifungal peptides bind to, (II) determine how these peptides get into fungal cells and cause cell death, (III) determine how three different peptides differ in their structures and ability to protect pepper plants from the gray mold disease. This project will identify peptides with potent antifungal activity and shed light on their mechanisms of action. IT will provide crucial information for development of these peptides as second-generation sprayable fungicides. This project will expand our knowledge of plant-derived antifungal peptides with mechanism of action different from conventional fungicides and identify specific peptides with potential for commercial development as sustainable BIO-fungicides.