Abstract
Protein crop plants such as soybean and lupin are attracting increasing attention because of their potential use as forage, green manure, or for the production of oil and protein for human consumption. Whereas soybean production only recently gained more importance in Germany and within the whole EU in frame of protein strategies, lupin production is already well-established in Germany. The cultivation of lupins is impeded by the hemibiotrophic ascomycete Colletotrichum lupini, the causal agent of anthracnose disease. Worldwide, soybean is also a host for a variety of Colletotrichum species, but so far, this seems to not be the case in Germany. Cross-virulence between lupin- and soybean-infecting isolates is a potential threat, especially considering the overlap of possible soybean and lupin growing areas in Germany. To address this question, we systematically investigated the interaction of different Colletotrichum species isolated from soybean in Brazil on German soybean and lupin plant cultivars. Conversely, we tested the interaction of a German field isolate of C. lupini with soybean. Under controlled conditions, Colletotrichum species from soybean and lupin were able to cross-infect the other host plant with varying degrees of virulence, thus underpinning the potential risk of increased anthracnose diseases in the future. Interestingly, we observed a pronounced plant growth-promoting effect for some host–pathogen combinations, which might open the route to the use of beneficial biological agents in lupin and soybean production.
Highlights
In view of the steadily growing world population and the increasing demand for sustainable food production, it has become clear that dietary protein cannot be provided through animal products alone
We firstly investigated Colletotrichum species originating from soybean or lupin for their ability to cross-infect both hosts
The soybean-derived C. truncatum isolates LFN0392 and LFN0389 were able to cause lesion sizes, which are significantly larger than the mock control but still not as large as those caused by C. lupini
Summary
In view of the steadily growing world population and the increasing demand for sustainable food production, it has become clear that dietary protein cannot be provided through animal products alone. The independent production of protein crop plants in Germany becomes increasingly attractive, and lupin represents an appealing alternative to soybean [1,2]. Lupin production has been negatively affected by the hemibiotrophic ascomycete Colletotrichum lupini, causing anthracnose disease [2,11,12]. The influence of anthracnose epidemics was severe, partially due to focusing on breeding low-alkaloidcontaining white lupin in the past, which is especially susceptible to C. lupini [13]. Breeding for resistance of lupin against C. lupini is slowly progressing, but the impact of the disease on production success is still severe and alternative plant protection methods are needed [14,15]. We performed inoculation experiments with Colletotrichum species isolated from soybean and lupin in Brazil and Germany, respectively, on soybean cultivar. The results from this study shall contribute to planning of current and future plant breeding goals and open the road to novel plant protection strategies
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