Publication – Conference Proceedings

Poster Contribution

ANTIFUNGAL PROPERTIES OF FATTY-ACID-BASED SUPERHYDROPHOBIC COATINGS: FROM SURFACE PROTECTION TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

This poster presentation was delivered during The Annual Conference of Israel Society for Microbiology 2025, ISM 2025, Tel-Aviv, Israel, 22-23 July 2025.

Background: Phytopathogens pose a significant threat to agriculture, leading to the destruction of approximately one-third of all food crops annually. Commercial agriculture vastly relies on chemical fungicides to protect crops from fungal pathogens. These pose environmental risks and promote resistance, underscoring the need for sustainable alternatives. Inspired by nature`s self-cleaning mechanisms observed in plants like lotus leaves, the fatty acids (FAs) assemble to form a superhydrophobic coating which impedes pathogen adhesion, the first step in the infection process. While superhydrophobic coatings are widely studied for bacterial control, primarily due to their ability to repel water and reduce microbial adhesion, their application against fungal pathogens remains largely underexplored.

Methods: using Botrytis cinerea, a widespread fungus responsible for gray mold in over 200 crop species, as a model fungus to evaluate the antifungal properties of FA-based coatings, specifically stearic acid-based coatings. The coatings were applied to various surfaces, including plants such as tomato and pepper leaves. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy was used to visualize morphological changes and tissue penetration while quantitative PCR (qPCR) quantified fungal biomass at the molecular level. Additionally, confocal imaging with viability staining was used to assess fungal metabolic activity.

Results: The FA-based coatings significantly reduced B. cinerea spore adhesion, germination, and mycelial growth. Across multiple infection scenarios, coated leaves showed lower levels of fungal colonization, highlighting the coatings’ effectiveness under varied conditions.

Conclusion: Overall, this work underscores the potential to use these coatings as a solution to mitigate fungal infections on different surfaces including plants in a more environmentally friendly manner.