The Effect of Pathogenesis-Related 10 (PR-10) Gene on the Progression of Fusarium Wilt in Musa acuminata cv. Berangan

Abstract

PR-10 is a member of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes elicited by the plant's defense mechanism during pathogen attack. Elevated expression of PR-10 upon different pathogen invasions has been observed in many plant species suggesting its role as an anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal gene. However, the effect of PR-10 in mitigating the infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), the causal agent of Fusarium wilt in banana has not been reported. In this study, the coding sequences of PR-10 gene isolated from Foc resistant Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis (MaPR-10) were integrated into a local Foc susceptible commercial banana cultivar, Berangan via co-cultivation of embryogenic cell suspension and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Out of 17 putative transgenic lines established, 11 of them positively harbored MaPR-10. Among these, Line-19 plantlets showed the most rapid in-vitro propagation and successfully overexpressed the transgene. Following a nursery challenge experiment with a virulent Foc race 4 (CI HIR) isolate, about 30% of Line-19 plants showed a one-week delay in disease progression when compared to the untransformed controls. From the final evaluation performed in the 5 th week-post-inoculation, the leaf symptoms index (LSI) and rhizome discoloration index (RDI) of Line-19 was 3.4 and 6.1, respectively, indicating the disease had progressed. The findings of this study enrich the current existing knowledge on the roles of PR-10 in combating fungal disease in plants.

Perceptions on the Challenges of Banana Cultivation and Bio-based Technology Use Among Malaysian Smallholder Farmers

“…Additionally, multi-partner collaborations have been established to develop improved banana varieties; a few new transgenic lines are currently being trialed in open fields (Pua et al 2019). Joining the international research initiatives, Malaysian universities and research institutes have carried out promising research to improve disease tolerance for local banana varieties (Baharum et al 2018;Jamil et al 2022). As these initiatives are preliminary, more funding incentives should be allocated to sustain such endeavors, safeguarding the future of Malaysia's banana industry.…”

Standardized bioassays: An improved method for studying Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (FocR4) pathogen stress response in Musa acuminata cv. ‘Berangan’

“…The occurrence of FocTR4 pathogen was previously limited to the tropical regions of Asia but has now been diagnosed in Oman, Jordan, Mozambique, Pakistan, Lebanon and more recently in Northern Queensland indicating that the disease is currently emerging in new regions of the world (Butler 2013;Ordoñez et al, 2015;O'neill et al, 2016) Numerous management strategies such as soil treatments, crop rotation and fumigation have been employed to reduce the severity of the disease, but none is able to provide long-term sustainable control (Pegg et al, 1996;Thangavelu et al, 2012). The cultivation of tolerant/resistant varieties remains the most effective approach despite the arduous development and selection process (Hu et al, 2013;Ghag et al, 2014;Baharum et al, 2018). Recent reports on genomic approaches in understanding the interactions between Foc and banana have begun to shed light into the possibilities of exploring new strategies for the continued development of resistant varieties.…”