Meloidogyne incognita is an economically dominant pathogen infesting a wide range of crops curbing their growth and productivity. Deregistration of frontline nematicides has necessitated exploration of innovative and novel class of structurally diverse nematicides with streamlined activity. In this context, N-alkylated derivatives of isatin known for their remarkable biological profile were synthesized, characterized and evaluated in vitro for their antinemic character followed by in silico studies for their mode of action and toxicological studies for their fitness as agrochemical. The antinemic evaluation was carried by egg hatch inhibition and juvenile mortality and its effect on egg hatching. Compounds 1 and 2a exhibited nematicidal potential and significantly decreased egg hatching and increased juvenile mortality. For egg hatch inhibition LC₅₀ and LC₉₅ values for 1 were found to be 0.125 and 1.380 mg/ml and for compound 2a, 0.457 and 8.511 mg/ml respectively. For juvenile mortality LC₅₀ and LC₉₅ values for 1 were found to be 0.109 and 0.776 mg/ml and for 2a, 0.190 and 1.380 mg/ml respectively. For insights into the mode of action of the synthesized molecules, in silico studies for the targeted effects were conducted which revealed novel interaction with pathogenic protein – Aspartyl protease. Computational studies on the drug-ability and potential toxicity of the selected compounds revealed they belonged to class IV and are safe. With good reasons, our compounds hold value for their exploration in agrochemical industry and thus, this study identifies a new scaffold with useful level of nematicidal activity for its use in agriculture industry.

By Komalpreet Kaura, Divya Utreja, Narpinderjeet K. Dhillon, Rajesh K. Pathak, Kamaljit Singh