Transcriptome and metabolome profiling reveal the inhibitory effects of food preservatives on pathogenic fungi.

Sec-butylamine, potassium sorbate, and citric acid were selected as preservatives to investigate their inhibitory effects on common plant pathogens-, , and -as well as the inhibitory mechanism of sec-butylamine against . The results showed that all three preservatives significantly inhibited the growth of the tested fungi. Under the experimental conditions, 0.6% sec-butylamine, 1.2% citric acid, and 0.2% potassium sorbate completely inhibited the growth of . Similarly, 0.5% sec-butylamine, 1.0% citric acid, and 0.6% potassium sorbate completely inhibited , while 1.0% sec-butylamine, 1.2% citric acid, and 0.8% potassium sorbate completely inhibited . All three preservatives exhibited strong inhibitory activity against mycelial growth, with inhibition increasing alongside concentration under conditions. To explore the inhibitory mechanism of sec-butylamine on , transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were conducted on mycelia before and after treatment. The results revealed that key genes such as AFLA_053390, AFLA_121370, AFLA_024930, and AFLA_041970 were significantly downregulated following sec-butylamine exposure. Additionally, AFLA_002830 and AFLA_030450 also showed reduced expression levels. Metabolomic analysis identified several metabolites associated with sec-butylamine treatment. Compounds such as (3R)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxotetrahydro-3-furanyl β-D-glucopyranoside (Com_5857_neg), trehalose (Com_3182_neg), D-glucosamine 6-phosphate (Com_4401_neg), and sucrose (Com_494_neg) were elevated, while D-gluconic acid (Com_9540_neg), D-glucose 6-phosphate (Com_723_neg), verbascose (Com_11501_neg), and D-(-)-fructose (Com_285_neg) were reduced after treatment. This study provides a reference for the practical application of food preservatives and lays a foundation for further research into their antifungal mechanisms.