Abstract
Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri (Foc) is a constant threat to chickpea productivity in several parts of the world. Understanding the molecular basis of chickpea-Foc interaction is necessary to improve chickpea resistance to Foc and thereby the productivity of chickpea. We transformed Foc race 2 using green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene and used it to characterize pathogen progression and colonization in wilt-susceptible (JG62) and wilt-resistant (Digvijay) chickpea cultivars using confocal microscopy. We also employed quantitative PCR (qPCR) to estimate the pathogen load and progression across various tissues of both the chickpea cultivars during the course of the disease. Additionally, the expression of several candidate pathogen virulence genes was analyzed using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR), which showed their characteristic expression in wilt-susceptible and resistant chickpea cultivars. Our results suggest that the pathogen colonizes the susceptible cultivar defeating its defense; however, albeit its entry in the resistant plant, further proliferation is severely restricted providing an evidence of efficient defense mechanism in the resistant chickpea cultivar.
Highlights
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) ranks third after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and peas (Pisum sativum) in grain legume production and is the only large-scale cultivated crop within the Cicer genus [1]
The important biotic factors affecting chickpea productivity include Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri in the tropics and Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabii in temperate regions [2]
Four treatments viz. JG62 inoculated (JGI); JG62 control (JGC); Digvijay inoculated (DVI), and Digvijay control (DVC); comprising 10 plants per time-point at eight different time-points, viz. 0 hpi, 16 hpi, 24 hpi, 2 dpi, 4 dpi, 7 dpi, 14 dpi and 28 dpi in three replicates each were raised in growth chamber
Summary
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) ranks third after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and peas (Pisum sativum) in grain legume production and is the only large-scale cultivated crop within the Cicer genus [1]. It is grown in over 50 countries with 90% of its area in developing countries. The important biotic factors affecting chickpea productivity include Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. Ciceri (Foc), worldwide out of which six (1A, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) cause wilting; whereas the races 0 and 1B/C cause yellowing symptoms [3, 4]. The pathogen can survive in PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0156490 May 26, 2016
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