A study on the susceptibility of the model legume plant Medicago truncatula to the soil-borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum

Abstract

Fusarium wilt is a soil-borne disease caused by formae specialis of Fusarium oxysporum on a large number of cultivated and wild plants. The susceptibility of the model legume plant Medicago truncatula to Fusarium oxysporum was studied by root-inoculating young plants in a miniaturised hydroponic culture. Among eight tested M. truncatula lines, all were susceptible to F. oxysporum f.sp. medicaginis, the causal agent of Fusarium wilt in alfalfa. However, a tolerant line, F83005.5, and a susceptible line, A17, could be distinguished by scoring the disease index. The fungus was transformed with the GFP marker gene and colonisation of the plant roots was analysed by epifluorescence and confocal microscopy. A slightly atypical pattern of root colonisation was observed, with massive fungal growth in the cortex. Although colonisation was not significantly different between susceptible and tolerant plants, the expression of some defencerelated genes showed discrimination between both lines. A study with 10 strains from various host-plants indicated that M. truncatula was a permissive host to F. oxysporum.

Natural diversity in the model legumeMedicago truncatulaallows identifying distinct genetic mechanisms conferring partial resistance toVerticilliumwilt

“…M. truncatula is now well established as a model for the study of plant–pathogen interactions, involving bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, nematodes, and aphids (Torregrosa et al , 2004; Vailleau et al , 2007; Ameline-Torregrosa et al , 2008; Dhandaydham et al , 2008; Djébali et al , 2009; Stewart et al , 2009; Uppalapati et al , 2009; Ramirez-Suero et al , 2010). The lines A17 and F83005.5 are often compared for pathogenic interactions and used for comparative and/or genetic approaches to study the interaction with C. trifolii (Ameline-Torregrosa et al , 2008), A. euteiches (Djébali et al , 2009), R. solanacearum (Vailleau et al , 2007), and Fusarium oxysporum (Ramirez-Suero et al , 2010).…”

“…The lines A17 and F83005.5 are often compared for pathogenic interactions and used for comparative and/or genetic approaches to study the interaction with C. trifolii (Ameline-Torregrosa et al , 2008), A. euteiches (Djébali et al , 2009), R. solanacearum (Vailleau et al , 2007), and Fusarium oxysporum (Ramirez-Suero et al , 2010). Genetic studies using RIL populations derived from a cross between lines A17 and F83005.5 revealed different quantitative mechanisms of resistance to R. solanacearum , A. euteiches , and C. trifolii , which always rely on a small number of loci.…”

Quantitative and Microscopic Assessment of Compatible and Incompatible Interactions between Chickpea Cultivars and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris Races

“…cubense race 4 to directly penetrate epidermal cells of banana roots, and the role of the epidermal cells of root caps and elongation zone as potential sites of ingress [17]; ii) the root meristem of emerging lateral roots and primary root tips of Arabidopsis thaliana are infection courts for a wilting F. oxysporum isolate, regardless the level of resistance of the host ecotypes [18]; iii) the pattern of Medicago trunculata colonization by F. oxysporum f. sp. medicaginis is similar between susceptible and tolerant lines [19]; iv) differential virulence of F. oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli isolates on bean is directly correlated with the speed of xylem vessels colonization [20]; vi) resistant and susceptible melon lines are differentially colonized by F. oxysporum f. sp.…”

Transcriptome analysis of the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. medicaginis during colonisation of resistant and susceptible Medicago truncatula hosts identifies differential pathogenicity profiles and novel candidate effectors

“…pathogenicity on legumes is poorly understood. Towards the aim of transferring knowledge to complex legume species, pathosystems utilising the reference legume Medicago truncatula have been developed to dissect the interaction between F. oxysporum and legume hosts [5, 26–28]. Utilising the pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp.…”