Abstract
Potato is considered a staple food in the world and its production is limited by the presence of bacterial wilt (bw) disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. Host resistance is the most sustainable and cost-effective strategy to manage bw, although resistant commercial potato cultivars are not yet available. Our group incorporated the efr receptor of Arabidopsis thaliana (atefr), which recognizes the elongation factor Tu, preserved in bacteria, triggering an immune response. atefr was tested in two genetic backgrounds: a susceptible commercial cultivar (inia Iporá) and a breeding clone with partial resistance introgressed from Solanum commersonii. In this work, the effect of the atefr receptor on bw resistance was evaluated for the first time, using conditions resembling natural field infection. In addition, the colonization patterns of wild-type and transgenic lines were compared by using luminescent and fluorescent R. solanacearum reporter strains. Both approaches showed a delay and a decrease in the severity of wilting symptoms in the atefr-transformed genotypes. Differential colonization patterns were observed, revealing a higher bacterial development in the non-transformed plants. This atefr effect seems more pronounced in the interspecific breeding line, possibly leading to a more effective activation of the plant immune system.
Highlights
Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the world’s most important phytopathogenic bacteria due to its lethality, persistence in the fields, wide host range, and broad geographical distribution[1](2)
Potato is considered a staple food in the world and its production is limited by the presence of bacterial wilt (BW) disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum
Plants grown in pots under growth chamber conditions do not necessarily behave the same as crops grown in the field
Summary
Ralstonia solanacearum is one of the world’s most important phytopathogenic bacteria due to its lethality, persistence in the fields, wide host range, and broad geographical distribution[1](2). This soil-borne vascular pathogen causes bacterial wilt (BW) in more than 250 monocot and dicot plant species in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions[3]. A recent taxonomic revision has led to the distinction of three separate species within the R. solanacearum species complex. Based on this new classification, the species R. solanacearum includes strains from phylotype II, originated from the southern Americas. Phylotypes I and III were assigned to the taxonomic species R. pseudosolanacearum and phylotype IV has been reclassified as R. syzygii[5]
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