Genetic Manipulation of Plants to Improve Postharvest Disease Resistance

Postharvest anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, is one of the most important postharvest diseases of mangoes worldwide. Bacillus siamensis (B. siamensis), as a biocontrol bacteria, has significant effects on inhibiting disease and improving the quality of fruits and vegetables. In this study, pre-storage application of B. siamensis significantly induced disease resistance and decreased disease index (DI) of stored mango fruit. To investigate the induction mechanisms of B. siamensis, comparative transcriptome analysis of mango fruit samples during the storage were established. In total, 234,808 unique transcripts were assembled and 56,704 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparative transcriptome analysis. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of DEGs showed that most of the DEGs involved in plant-pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction, and biosynthesis of resistant substances were enriched. Fourteen DEGs related to disease-resistance were validated by qRT-PCR, which well corresponded to the FPKM value obtained from the transcriptome data. These results indicate that B. siamensis treatment may act to induce disease resistance of mango fruit by affecting multiple pathways. These findings not only reveal the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that govern postharvest disease, but also develop a biological strategy to maintain quality of post-harvest mango fruit.

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History and Perspectives on the Use of Disease Resistance Inducers in Horticultural Crops

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.15.3.0518 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 518-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Andrea B. da Rocha ◽

Ray Hammerschmidt

Keyword(s):

Disease Resistance ◽

Disease Control ◽

Induced Resistance ◽

Broad Spectrum ◽

Management Practices ◽

Disease Suppression ◽

Postharvest Disease ◽

High Quality ◽

Horticultural Crops ◽

Resistance Inducers

A major challenge facing horticultural crop production is the need to provide field and postharvest disease control measures that help maintain high quality plant products. Producers and consumers also expect high quality produce with minimal or no pesticide residues and competitive prices. The chemical management of disease is further complicated by the development of fungicide resistance in many important pathogens. Because of these concerns, an alternative or complementary approach is the use of disease resistance inducers that activate the natural defenses of the plant. Induced disease resistance in plants has been studied in many different pathosystems for nearly a century. Resistance to plant disease can be induced systemically by prior infection with pathogens, by certain non-pathogenic microbes that colonize the surface of roots and leaves, or by chemicals. The application of resistance inducers should protect plants through the induction of defenses that are effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens. Over the last few years, a number of materials that could potentially be used as inducers of resistance in horticultural crops have been identified. Some of these materials are already commercially available. Although induced resistance is known to provide a broad spectrum of disease suppression, it may not be a complete solution because variation in the efficacy of disease resistance induction has been observed. The variation in the response may be dependent on the plant species and even cultivars, as well as variability in the spectrum of pathogens that resistance can be induced against. Induction of resistance depends on the activation of biochemical processes that are triggered in the plant, and therefore a lag time between treatment and expression of resistance occurs. This lag effect may limit the practical application of disease resistance inducers. Since the efficacy of the inducers also depends on the part of the plant that was treated, the product delivery (i.e., how the inducers would be applied in order to optimize their action) is another factor to be considered. Some studies have shown that there may be side effects on growth or yield characteristics when certain inducers are used. Understanding the biochemical interactions occurring between plants, pathogens and the inducers will provide information that may be useful for the optimization of this new approach on disease control. Approaches to integrate induced resistance with other management practices need to be investigated as a means to aid the development of sustainable disease management programs that are effective as well as economically and environmentally sound.

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Preharvestl-Arginine Treatment Induced Postharvest Disease Resistance toBotrysis cinereain Tomato Fruits

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ◽

10.1021/jf2000053 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 59 (12) ◽

pp. 6543-6549 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Yang Zheng ◽

Jiping Sheng ◽

Ruirui Zhao ◽

Jian Zhang ◽

Shengnan Lv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Resistance ◽

Postharvest Disease ◽

Tomato Fruits

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Genome editing for disease resistance in livestock

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20170032 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 209-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chris Proudfoot ◽

Christine Burkard

Keyword(s):

Disease Resistance ◽

Genome Editing ◽

Production Efficiency ◽

Genetic Manipulation ◽

Sequencing Technology ◽

Livestock Industry ◽

Livestock Species ◽

Disease Resistant

One of the major burdens on the livestock industry is loss of animals and decrease in production efficiency due to disease. Advances in sequencing technology and genome-editing techniques provide the unique opportunity to generate animals with improved traits. In this review we discuss the techniques currently applied to genetic manipulation of livestock species and the efforts in making animals disease resistant or resilient.

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