Abstract
Root rot caused by Ilyonectria mors-panacis is a devastating fungal disease leading to defect in root quality and causes reduced yield during the perennial life cycle of Panax ginseng Meyer. This indicates the imperative need to understand the molecular basis of disease development and also to enhance tolerance against the fungus. With this idea, the protective effect of silicon (supplied as silica nanoparticles) in P. ginseng root rot pathosystem and its molecular mechanism was investigated in the current study. We have tested different concentrations of silicon (Si) to disease-infected ginseng and found that long term analysis (30 dpi) displayed a striking 50% reduction in disease severity index upon the treatment of Si. Expectedly, Si had no direct degradative effect against the pathogen. Instead, in infected roots it resulted in reduced expression of PgSWEET leading to regulated sugar efflux into apoplast and enhanced tolerance against I. mors-panacis. In addition, under diseased condition, both protopanaxadiol (PPD) and protopanaxatriol (PPT) type ginsenoside profile in roots were higher in Si treated plants. This is the first report indicating the protective role of Si in ginseng-root rot pathosystem, thereby uncovering novel features of ginseng mineral physiology and at the same time, enabling its usage to overcome root rot.
Highlights
Root rot caused by Ilyonectria mors-panacis is a devastating fungal disease leading to defect in root quality and causes reduced yield during the perennial life cycle of Panax ginseng Meyer
Upon 1 mM and 2 mM administration of Si a striking 50% reduction in disease severity index (DSI) was recorded, which confirms its protective effect against ginseng-root rot (Fig. 1b–d)
PgLOX6 was characterized to be the precursor of Jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis in ginseng and PgMYC, PgWRKY22 were indicated as the probable potential candidate transcription factors (TFs) involved in JA mediated ginsenoside biosynthesis[7]
Summary
This indicates the imperative need to understand the molecular basis of disease development and to enhance tolerance against the fungus. With this idea, the protective effect of silicon (supplied as silica nanoparticles) in P. ginseng root rot pathosystem and its molecular mechanism was investigated in the current study. Considering the present scenario, the application of ‘protective agents’ that induce plant defense responses upon pathogen invasion seems to be one of the promising strategies to overcome root rot.
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