Background. Basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by the fungusGanoderma boninenseis the most serious disease affecting the oil palm; this is because the disease escapes the early disease detection. The biocontrol agentTrichoderma harzianumcan protect the disease only at the early stage of the disease. In the present study, the expression levels of three oil palm (Elaeis guineensisJacq.) chitinases encoding EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 at 2, 5, and 8 weeks inoculation were measured in oil palm leaves from plants treated withG. boninenseorT. harzianumalone or both.Methods. The five-month-old oil palm seedlings were treated with Gano-wood blocks inoculum and trichomulch. Expression of EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 in treated leaves tissue was determined by real-time PCR.Results. Oil palm chitinases were not strongly expressed in oil palm leaves of plants treated withG. boninensealone compared to other treatments. Throughout the 8-week experiment, expression of EgCHI1 increased more than 3-fold in leaves of plants treated withT. harzianumandG. boninensewhen compared to those of control and other treated plants.Conclusion. The data illustrated that chitinase cDNA expression varied depending on tissue and the type of treatment.
Characterization of novel type I ribosome-inactivating proteins isolated from oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) inoculated with Ganoderma boninense, the causal agent of basal stem rot