Metabolism of imazalil by wild-type and DMI-resistant isolates of Penicillium italicum

Metabolism of imazalil (1-2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(2-propenyloxy)ethyl]-1H-imidazole) inPenicillium italicum isolates with a wild-type sensitivity and with various degrees of resistance to sterol demethylation inhibitors was studied in liquid cultures. The metabolite 1-2(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(2,3-dihydroxypropyloxy)ethyl]-1H-imidazole (R42243) was detected in the culture filtrate after prolonged incubation. The metabolism occurred in the propenyl side chain of imazalil probably through epoxidation and hydratation. This is the first report of such a conversion of imazalil in fungi. R42243 was much less toxic toP. italicum than imazalil. Therefore, the metabolism can be regarded as a detoxification step. Both wild-type and resistant isolates metabolized imazalil, but metabolism by resistant isolates was faster than by the wild-type isolate. This is probably caused by a relatively strong inhibition of growth of the wild-type isolate by the fungicide. Results indicate that the detoxification of imazalil does not operate as a mechanism of resistance. This conclusion was confirmed by the fact that resistant isolates showed cross-resistance to miconazole and R42243, which had a similar structure as imazalil except for the propenyl side chain.