%0 Journal Article
%T Phytotoxicity: An Overview of the Physiological Responses of Plants Exposed to Fungicides
%A Maria Celeste Dias
%J Journal of Botany
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/135479
%X In the last decades, the use of fungicides in agriculture for fungi diseases control has become crucial. Fungicide research has produced a diverse range of products with novel modes of action. However, the extensive use of these compounds in the agriculture system raises public concern because of the harmful potential of such substances in the environment and human health. Moreover, the phytotoxic effects of some fungicides are already recognized but little is known about the impact of these compounds on the photosynthetic apparatus. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the literature considering different classes of fungicides and their effects on plant physiology, with particular emphasis on photosynthesis. 1. Introduction Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms that destroy or inhibit the growth of fungi or fungal spores [1]. The use of fungicides for an effective control of plant diseases has become crucial in the last decades in the agriculture system since it is estimated that fungal infections cause yield reductions of almost 20% of crops worldwide [1]. Due to their relatively low cost, ease of use, and effectiveness, fungicides became the primary means of fungi control [2]. However, the extensive use of these compounds to control fungal disease in plants raises the appearance of new strains of pathogens that have become resistant to the available commercial products [3]. Fungicide toxicity is not always restricted to the target pest organism, having also been demonstrated in mammals [4] including humans [5]. The extensive use of fungicides in plant protection against fungal disease generates long-term residues in food and in the environment [6, 7]. In the annual EU report, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), where vegetables and fruits of 27 countries were surveyed for pesticides contamination, the results highlighted that dithiocarbamates are among the most common residual contaminants. Thus, the abusive use of such compounds in agriculture has mobilized public concern because of the harmful potential of such substances in the environment and in the food chain representing a risk for human health [6]. Most of the work dealing with the impact of fungicides in agriculture is focused on their efficiency against fungal pathogens or their residues in crops [6, 8]. Several reports appoint that some fungicides may enhance plant defences through phytoalexin synthesis and cell wall lignification or stimulate enzymes involved in the synthesis of phenolic compounds [8¨C10]. Others describe the putative protective role of
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jb/2012/135479/