BACKGROUND: The escalating resistance of phytopathogenic fungi to conventional fungicides, combined with increasing environmental concerns, necessitates the development of novel bioactive agents. RESULTS: . In vivo assays further confirmed its superior curative potential against pine shoot blight compared to the commercial fungicide boscalid. Mechanistic investigations, utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), revealed that compound Qed-3 disrupts the integrity of hyphal cell walls and membranes, leading to electrolyte leakage and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). CONCLUSIONS: Molecular docking and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses provided insights into the binding modes and structural determinants essential for antifungal potency. These findings highlight the potential of 2-arylaminoquinine as a promising and eco-friendly candidate for novel fungicide development. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.
Fan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.