Abstract
Banana plants (Musa acuminata L.) are exposed to various biotic and abiotic stresses that affect their production worldwide. Banana plants respond to these stresses, but their responses to combined stresses are unique and differ from those to various individual stresses. This study reported the effects of the mycorrhizal colonization of banana roots and/or infection with root rot on the transcriptional expression of the responsive factor JERF3 and stress-responsive genes (POD, PR1, CHI, and GLU) under different salinity levels. Different transcriptional levels were recorded in response to the individual, dual, or triple treatments. All the applied biotic and abiotic stresses triggered the transcriptional expression of the tested genes when individually applied, but they showed different influences varying from synergistic to antagonistic when applied in combinations. The salinity stress had the strongest effect when applied in combination with the biotic stress and/or mycorrhizal colonization, especially at high concentrations. Moreover, the salinity level differentially affects the banana responses under combined stresses and/or mycorrhizal colonization in addition, the mycorrhizal colonization of banana plantlets improved their growth, photosynthesis, and nutrient uptake, as well as greatly alleviated the detrimental effects of salt and infection stresses. In general, the obtained results indicated that the responses of banana plantlets under the combined stresses are more complicated and differed from those under the individual stresses depending on the crosstalks between the signaling pathways.
Highlights
Banana (Musa acuminata L.) is one of the most important tropical fruit crops worldwide and a major economic commodity for some countries in international trading
The transcriptional expressions of the responsive factor JERF3 and four stress-responsive genes in banana roots in response to colonization with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and/or infection with root rot under different levels of salinity were investigated (Figure 1)
The maximum gene expression was recorded in the mycorrhizalinfected banana plantlets under the salinity level S1 (6.9-fold), but the inducing effect was lower in the mycorrhizal banana plantlets infected with root rot under salinity level S2 than the other salinity levels
Summary
Banana (Musa acuminata L.) is one of the most important tropical fruit crops worldwide and a major economic commodity for some countries in international trading. In 2019, the global export of bananas was around 24.7 million tons with a total value of USD 13 billion, representing the highest export value among the international trade of fruits. In Egypt, 1.36 million tons of bananas were produced in 2019 for a production area of around 30.4 ha (FAOSTAT, 2021). Bananas are exposed to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses which affect their production. Banana root rot, caused by Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., is one of the soil-borne diseases that affect crop yield. The disease symptoms include rotting and lesions in the root system that result in reducing the water and nutrient uptake and decreasing plant growth and productivity (El-Nagdi et al, 2015). Various studies were conducted to control banana root rot using chemical fungicides such as benomyl, carbendazim, mancozeb, and prochloraz, and biocontrol agents such as Streptomyces spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Trichoderma spp., and Saccharomyces spp. (El-Deeb and El-Naggar, 2008)
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