{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T09:09:16Z","timestamp":1789031356459,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of Fujian Province","award":["2023R1071"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023R1071"]}]},{"name":"Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of Fujian Province","award":["2023R1022004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023R1022004"]}]},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["2024J01325"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024J01325"]}]},{"name":"Projects of Agricultural High-quality Development Beyond the \u201c5511\u201d Collaborative Innovation","award":["XTCXGC2021011"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XTCXGC2021011"]}]},{"name":"Projects of Agricultural High-quality Development Beyond the \u201c5511\u201d Collaborative Innovation","award":["XTCXGC2021017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["XTCXGC2021017"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Metabolites"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Stem base rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum is a devastating soil-borne disease, yet long-term chemical pesticide application has raised serious environmental and ecological concerns. Thymol, a plant-derived fungicide, demonstrates a favorable safety profile for humans and environmental systems while exhibiting broad-spectrum antifungal efficacy. This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effects of thymol against F. oxysporum and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms of action. Methods: The antifungal activity of thymol was assessed in vitro against F. oxysporum by measuring colony and mycelial growth inhibition, sporulation, and spore germination at varying concentrations. Microscopic examination was performed to observe morphological changes in hyphae. Biochemical assays were conducted to quantify soluble protein content, DNA synthesis, ergosterol levels, and fusaric acid production in treated mycelia. Dose\u2013response data were used to calculate median effective concentrations (EC50) for relevant parameters. Results: Thymol significantly inhibited F. oxysporum growth, with EC50 values of 51.02 \u03bcg\/mL for colony growth and 57.30 \u03bcg\/mL for mycelial growth. Microscopy revealed abnormal, shorter, thicker hyphae with enlarged vacuoles. Sporulation and spore germination were also effectively suppressed, with EC50 of 39.37 \u03bcg\/mL and 53.55 \u03bcg\/mL, respectively. At 100 \u03bcg\/mL, thymol reduced soluble protein content by 36.73%, inhibited DNA synthesis by 47.29%, decreased ergosterol content by 48.11%, and reduced fusaric acid production by 76.86%. Conclusions: Thymol exerts multi-targeted inhibitory effects against F. oxysporum through disruption of cellular structure, impairment of macromolecular synthesis, interference with ergosterol biosynthesis, and suppression of toxin production. These findings provide a strong theoretical foundation for developing thymol as a novel biopesticide for sustainable management of stem base rot.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/metabo16090665","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T16:43:16Z","timestamp":1788972196000},"page":"665","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Inhibitory Effects and Mechanisms of Thymol Against Fusarium oxysporum, a Pathogen of Stem Base Rot"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xiangyu","family":"Hou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fujian Engineering Research Center for Green Pest Management, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China"},{"name":"School of Computing and Information Science, Fuzhou Institute of Technology, Fuzhou 350506, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Peng","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fujian Engineering Research Center for Green Pest Management, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fujian Engineering Research Center for Green Pest Management, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yangxin","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computing and Information Science, Fuzhou Institute of Technology, Fuzhou 350506, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Benjin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fujian Engineering Research Center for Green Pest Management, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Key Laboratory for Monitoring and Integrated Management of Crop Pests, Fujian Engineering Research Center for Green Pest Management, Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"131","article-title":"Identification of pathogen of wheat crown rot disease in Ningxia","volume":"51","author":"Hu","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. 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