To
improve the effect of pine rosin in plant fungicides, four series
of dehydroabietyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives from the natural product
rosin were synthesized. Based on the evaluation of the in
vitro antifungal activity against Sclerotinia
sclerotiorum, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Magnaporthe oryzae, rosin-based 1,3,4-thiadiazole
compounds containing thiophene heterocycles were screened. Notably,
compound 3e [dehydroabietyl-(1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)-5-nitrothiophene-2-carboxamide]
exhibited excellent antifungal property against F.
oxysporum with an EC50 of 0.618 mg/L, which
was lower than that of the positive control carbendazim (0.649 mg/L).
The in vivo antifungal activity results showed that 3e exerted a protective effect on cucumber plants. Physiological
and biochemical studies showed that the primary mechanism of action
of compound 3e on F. oxysporum was it changed the mycelial morphology, increased the cell membrane
permeability, and inhibited the synthesis of ergosterol in the mycelia.
Furthermore, the quantitative structure–activity relationship
studies revealed that the frontier orbital energy in the molecule
had a key role in the antifungal activity through the conjugation
and electrostatic interaction between compound 3e and
the receptors of the target. Thus, the present study highlighted the
application of rosin-based fungicidal candidates and exploited efficient
plant pesticides for sustainable crop production.