Open Access

ARTICLE

Acalypha gaumeri: Antifungal Activity of Three Populations under Edaphic and Seasonal Variations and Ex-Situ Propagation

Arely A. Vargas-Díaz¹, Daisy Pérez-Brito², Beatriz Hernández-Carlos³, Jairo Cristóbal-Alejo^4,*, Silvia Andrade-Canto², Marcela Gamboa-Angulo^2,*

1 Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, SECIHTI−Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, 97000, Yucatán, México
2 Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Mérida, 97205, Yucatán, México
3 Instituto de Agroindustrias, Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca, Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, 69000, Oaxaca, México
4 Laboratorio de Fitopatología, Campus Conkal, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Conkal, 97345, Yucatán, México

* Corresponding Authors: Jairo Cristóbal-Alejo. Email: ; Marcela Gamboa-Angulo. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Functional Plant Extracts and Bioactive Metabolites)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(9), 2839-2853. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.066682

Received 15 April 2025; Accepted 10 June 2025; Issue published 30 September 2025

Abstract

In the search for new alternatives to control tropical fungal pathogens, the ethanol extracts (EEs) from Acalypha gaumeri (Euphorbiaceae) roots showed antifungal properties against several tropical fungal phytopathogens. A. gaumeri is classified as endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, an area with distinct rainy, drought and northern seasons. The present study evaluated the antifungal activity of three wild populations of A. gaumeri collected quarterly in different seasons during one year against Alternaria chrysanthemi, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Pseudocercospora fijiensis and explored their ex-situ propagation. The highest activity was shown by the EE from the Tinum wild population during the rainy season against A. chrysanthemi, C. gloeosporioides, and P. fijiensis with MIC values of 500–1000 μg/mL, followed by Yaxcaba populations during the rainy season and Kiuic and Tinum from November against A. chrysanthemi and P. fijiensis 1000 and 500 μg/mL, respectively. The propagation of A. gaumeri was more effective through medium cuttings, showing 96% with 0.06% auxin indolbutyric acid, whereas only 51% of seeds germinated. The results indicated that seasonal changes and edaphic conditions in the three populations influence the antifungal efficacy of the extracts from A. gaumeri roots. This study enhances the knowledge of the biology and sustainable management of the A. gaumeri plant and advances the development of a biorational product to control tropical fungal diseases.

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