The hemibiotrophic pathogen Colletotrichum orbiculare preferentially expresses a necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1 (Nep1)-like protein named NLP1 during the switch to necrotrophy. Here, we report that the constitutive expression of NLP1 in C. orbiculare blocks pathogen infection in multiple Cucurbitaceae cultivars via their enhanced defense responses. NLP1 has a cytotoxic activity that induces cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana. However, C. orbiculare transgenic lines constitutively expressing a mutant NLP1 lacking the cytotoxic activity still failed to infect cucumber, indicating no clear relationship between cytotoxic activity and the NLP1-dependent enhanced defense. NLP1 also possesses the microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) sequence called nlp24, recognized by Arabidopsis thaliana at its central region, similar to NLPs of other pathogens. Surprisingly, inappropriate expression of a mutant NLP1 lacking the MAMP signature is also effective for blocking pathogen infection, uncoupling the infection block from the corresponding MAMP. Notably, the deletion analyses of NLP1 suggested that the C-terminal region of NLP1 is critical to enhance defense in cucumber. The expression of mCherry fused with the C-terminal 32 amino acids of NLP1 was enough to trigger the defense of cucurbits, revealing that the C-terminal region of the NLP1 protein is recognized by cucurbits and, then, terminates C. orbiculare infection.

Fungal endophytes are a special group of symbionts that invade the internal environment of the host organism without causing any pathogenic symptoms. They increase the vigor of the plant while protecting them from several biotic and abiotic stress conditions such as herbivory, disease, and drought. In this study, endophytic fungi were isolated from fig (Ficus carica), a beneficial plant belongs to the family of Moraceae. This study was conducted to determine the potential of fungal endophytes of F.carica as biocontrol agents against selected phytopathogens Ganoderma boninense, Magnaporthe oryzae, and Fusarium verticillioides. Besides, endophytic fungi isolates were also screened to assess their ability as a phosphate-solubilizing agent. Results obtained revealed that a total of 11 fungal endophytes was successfully isolated from leaf, root, and stem samples of F.carica. The cultural-morphological identifications were carried out on the unknown fungal isolates. For the antagonistic test, S2-1 and R3-4 show a promising potential against those phytopathogens with more than 20% Percentage Inhibition Radial Growth (PIRG). Endophyte S2-1 exhibits the competition mechanism, while R3-4 expresses the antibiosis mechanism in suppressing the mycelium growth of phytopathogens. As for phosphate solubilization, 8 of 10 isolates show positive results as phosphate solubilizer with the highest PSI value 3.02±0.05 (S2-4).

Stevia rebaudiana is a medicinal plant recommended to diabetic or obese patients as an alternative sweetener owing to its low-calorie property. Previous studies have found that the stevioside level is highest at the time of flower bud formation and lowest at the time of preceding and following flower bud formation. Hence, this study aims to identify the genes involved in the flowering of local S. rebaudiana accession MS007 by investigating the transcriptomic data of two stages of growth, before flowering (BF) and after flowering (AF) that were deposited under accession number SRX6362785 and SRX6362784 at the NCBI SRA database. The transcriptomic study managed to annotate 108299 unigenes of S. rebaudiana with 8871 and 9832 genes that were differentially expressed in BF and AF samples, respectively. These genes involved in various metabolic pathways related to flower development, response to stimulus as well as photosynthesis. Pheophorbide A oxygenase ( PAO ), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit E ( TIF3E1 ), and jasmonate ZIM domain-containing protein 1 ( JAZ1 ) were found to be involved in the flower development. The outcome of this study will help further research in the manipulation of the flowering process, especially in the breeding programme to develop photo-insensitive Stevia plant.

Phytophthora palmivora is a destructive plant pathogenic oomycete that has caused lethal diseases in a wide range of hosts. It is a pan-tropical distributed pathogen that can infect plants at all growth stages. Extensive studies have linked P. palmivora to severe diseases in several crops, such as black pepper, rubber, cocoa, and durian, causing global economic losses. This review covers the following topics in depth: (i) P. palmivora as phytopathogen; (ii) identification and infection mechanism in rubber, cocoa, and durian; and (iii) management and control applied for P. palmivora diseases. Effective management strategies were studied and practiced to prevent the spread of P. palmivora disease. Genetic resistance and biocontrol are the best methods to control the disease. A better understanding of P. palmivora infection mechanisms in our main crops and early disease detection can reduce the risk of catastrophic pandemics.

Food security is the most crucial issue faced by humans considering the rising population. Rice, a staple food consumed by nearly 50% of the world’s population, faces challenges to meet the consumers’ demand to ensure self-sufficiency amidst various abiotic and biotic stresses. Drought, salinity, heat, and infection by bacteria and viruses are the main challenges in rice cultivation. Genome editing technology provides abundant opportunities to implement selective genome modifications. Moreover, it finds the functional implications of different genome components in rice and provides a new approach for creating rice varieties tolerant of stresses. This review focuses on rice production worldwide and challenges faced in rice cultivation, and current genome editing tools available that can be utilised for crop breeding and improvement. In addition, the application of genome editing to develop biotic and abiotic resistance rice varieties is critically discussed.