Comparative Transcriptome and Expression Profiling of Resistant and Susceptible Banana Cultivars during Infection by Fusarium oxysporum.

Manoj Kaushal,Rony Swennen,George Mahuku

doi:10.3390/ijms22063002

Abstract

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is one of the most destructive diseases of banana. Methods to control the disease are still inadequate. The present investigation targeted expression of defense-related genes in tissue cultured banana plantlets of Fusarium resistant and susceptible cultivars after infection with biological control agents (BCAs) and Fusarium (Foc race 1). In total 3034 differentially expressed genes were identified which annotated to 58 transcriptional families (TF). TF families such as MYB, bHLH and NAC TFs were mostly up-regulated in response to pathogen stress, whereas AP2/EREBP were mostly down-regulated. Most genes were associated with plant–pathogen response, plant hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, selenocompound metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, mRNA surveillance pathway, mannose type O-glycan biosynthesis, amino acid and nucleotide sugar metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism, and hormone signal transduction. Our results showed that the defense mechanisms of resistant and susceptible banana cultivars treated with BCAs, were regulated by differentially expressed genes in various categories of defense pathways. Furthermore, the association with different resistant levels might serve as a strong foundation for the control of Fusarium wilt of banana.

Highlights

Published: 16 March 2021Banana is among one of the most economically important crops in the world
DIAMOND [66] to map the differentially expression gene (DEG) to the PRGdb [67] database for the detection of plant disease resistance genes based on the query coverage and identity requirement [68]. This is the first study to perform transcriptome and expression profile sequencing of a Fusarium resistant and susceptible cultivar following inoculation with biological control agents (BCAs)
BCAs reduced the necrotic symptoms in the roots and leaves of the susceptible cultivar

Summary

Introduction

Banana is among one of the most economically important crops in the world. Besides being a staple food crop, banana is of critical importance for food security and income generation for small holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Banana production has been negatively impacted by Fusarium wilt, a disease caused by the soil-borne fungus. Substantial losses in banana production have been observed around the globe [3]. The fungus persists in soil for long periods as chlamydospores even in the absence of its host. Once bananas have been infected, the fungus can spread through infected planting material, soil run-off and farm implements. The fungus penetrates through small openings or wounds in roots, clogs the xylem vessels and interferes with nutrient and water translocation, leading to wilting [4]

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