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State of the Art in Plant Science
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State of the Art in Plant Science

A topical collection in Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This collection belongs to the section "Plant Science".

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Editors

Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada

E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Department of Bioinformatics, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Fukuoka 804-8550, Japan
Interests: plant genomics; plant evolution; system biology in plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yoshiteru Noutoshi

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Collection Editor
Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
Interests: plant pathology; plant disease resistance; host responses; pathogenicity; plant defense activators; biocontrol; phytohormones; crop protection

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Topical Collection entitled “State of the Art in Plant Science”. This Topical Collection publishes original research and timely review articles on all aspects of plant science. The Topical Collection aims to increase our knowledge of plant molecular biology, plant physiology and eco-physiology, plant pathology, plant phylogeny, and interactions with both the abiotic and biotic environments.

Prof. Dr. Kousuke Hanada
Prof. Dr. Yoshiteru Noutoshi
Collection Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (14 papers)

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2023

Jump to: 2022, 2021

22 pages, 1709 KiB  
Article
In Situ Visible Spectroscopic Daily Monitoring of Senescence of Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) Leaves
by Satoru Nakashima and Eri Yamakita
Life 2023, 13(10), 2030; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13102030 - 09 Oct 2023
Viewed by 794
Abstract
The degradation of green leaves in autumn after their photosynthetic activities is associated with decreases in chlorophylls and increases in anthocyanins. However, the sequential orders of these processes are not well understood because of a lack of continuous monitoring of leaves in the [...] Read more.
The degradation of green leaves in autumn after their photosynthetic activities is associated with decreases in chlorophylls and increases in anthocyanins. However, the sequential orders of these processes are not well understood because of a lack of continuous monitoring of leaves in the same positions. Therefore, the senescence processes of Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) leaves were followed daily in the same positions for approximately 60 days using visible spectroscopy with an original handheld visible–near-infrared spectrometer. The obtained reflection spectra were converted to absorption spectra and band areas of chlorophyll a and anthocyanins were determined. Decreases in the chlorophyll a band area with time show two-step exponential decreases corresponding to slow and fast first-order decrease rates. A rapid decrease in chlorophyll a started after an increase in anthocyanin. Therefore, the leaf senescence started through a slow decrease in chlorophyll a (20–30 days), followed by a rapid increase in anthocyanins (~20 days), followed by a rapid decrease in chlorophyll a (10–20 days). The formation of anthocyanins has been proposed to protect leaf cells from losing chlorophylls through solar radiation damage. The obtained sequential changes of pigments support this light screen hypothesis. (199 words < 200 words) Full article
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23 pages, 6023 KiB  
Article
The In Silico Characterization of Monocotyledonous α-l-Arabinofuranosidases on the Example of Maize
by Alsu Nazipova, Olga Makshakova and Liudmila Kozlova
Life 2023, 13(2), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020266 - 18 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1203
Abstract
Plant α-l-arabinofuranosidases remove terminal arabinose from arabinose-containing substrates such as plant cell wall polysaccharides, including arabinoxylans, arabinogalactans, and arabinans. In plants, de-arabinosylation of cell wall polysaccharides accompanies different physiological processes such as fruit ripening and elongation growth. In this report, we [...] Read more.
Plant α-l-arabinofuranosidases remove terminal arabinose from arabinose-containing substrates such as plant cell wall polysaccharides, including arabinoxylans, arabinogalactans, and arabinans. In plants, de-arabinosylation of cell wall polysaccharides accompanies different physiological processes such as fruit ripening and elongation growth. In this report, we address the diversity of plant α-l-arabinofuranosidases of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 51 through their phylogenetic analysis as well as their structural features. The CBM4-like domain at N-terminus was found to exist only in GH51 family proteins and was detected in almost 90% of plant sequences. This domain is similar to bacterial CBM4, but due to substitutions of key amino acid residues, it does not appear to be able to bind carbohydrates. Despite isoenzymes of GH51 being abundant, in particular in cereals, almost half of the GH51 proteins in Poales have a mutation of the acid/base residue in the catalytic site, making them potentially inactive. Open-source data on the transcription and translation of GH51 isoforms in maize were analyzed to discuss possible functions of individual isoenzymes. The results of homology modeling and molecular docking showed that the substrate binding site can accurately accommodate terminal arabinofuranose and that arabinoxylan is a more favorable ligand for all maize GH51 enzymes than arabinan. Full article
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14 pages, 624 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Wine-Producing Vitis vinifera L. Biotypes, Autochthonous to Crete (Greece), Employing Ampelographic and Microsatellite Markers
by Evangelia V. Avramidou, Ioannis Masaoutis, Theodora D. Pitsoli, Aliki Kapazoglou, Maria Pikraki, Emmanouil A. Trantas, Michael Nikolantonakis and Andreas G. Doulis
Life 2023, 13(1), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13010220 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1417
Abstract
Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera (domesticated grapevine) includes thousands of cultivars, which are classified according to their main uses, as wines, fresh fruits or dried raisins and sultanas since ancient times. Evidence showed that Crete grapevine cultivars and winemaking date back to 2300 BC. [...] Read more.
Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera (domesticated grapevine) includes thousands of cultivars, which are classified according to their main uses, as wines, fresh fruits or dried raisins and sultanas since ancient times. Evidence showed that Crete grapevine cultivars and winemaking date back to 2300 BC. In this study, fifty-one genotypes belonging to seven different traditional Vitis vinifera cultivars, presumed autochthonous to the island of Crete, were selected for their wine-producing potential and classified by 51 ampelographic descriptors. In addition, five genotypes belonging to two non-autochthonous cultivars were included as out-group controls. Subsequently, in order to characterize genetic diversity, establish genetic relationships within and between cultivars and solve accession-labeling problems, genotypes were fingerprinted employing Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR or microsatellite) markers. Four of the autochthonous cultivars namely ‘Vidiano’, ‘Vilana’, ‘Plyto’, and ‘Moschato Spinas’ are used in the local economy for blanc (white) wine production while the rest, namely ‘Kotsifali’, ‘Liatiko’ and ‘Mantilari’ for Noir (red) wines. The two cultivars employed as out-group were ‘Moschato Samou’ and ‘Moschato Alexandrias’: both white wine producers. Ampelography-based clustering grouped the majority of genotypes along cultivar-specific clusters. All three Moschato cultivars formed a distinct clade pointing to the non-autochthonous origin of ‘Moschato Spinas’. A total of one hundred and thirteen (113) SSR alleles were amplified from thirteen (13) SSR loci, with an average number of alleles per locus equal to 10.23 revealing ample genetic polymorphism. The cumulative probability of identity was also quite high (3.389 × 10−16). The overall observed heterozygosity was 0.837 while for twenty-nine of the examined genotypes, at least one private SSR allele was detected. The majority of genotypes were grouped in cultivar-specific clusters. The results of this paper pave the way for the certification and registration of clones of some of the most important wine-producing cultivars in Crete. Full article
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2022

Jump to: 2023, 2021

26 pages, 3193 KiB  
Article
Genes Associated with Biological Nitrogen Fixation Efficiency Identified Using RNA Sequencing in Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.)
by David Vlk, Oldřich Trněný and Jana Řepková
Life 2022, 12(12), 1975; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12121975 - 25 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1957
Abstract
Commonly studied in the context of legume–rhizobia symbiosis, biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a key component of the nitrogen cycle in nature. Despite its potential in plant breeding and many years of research, information is still lacking as to the regulation of hundreds [...] Read more.
Commonly studied in the context of legume–rhizobia symbiosis, biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a key component of the nitrogen cycle in nature. Despite its potential in plant breeding and many years of research, information is still lacking as to the regulation of hundreds of genes connected with plant–bacteria interaction, nodulation, and nitrogen fixation. Here, we compared root nodule transcriptomes of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) genotypes with contrasting nitrogen fixation efficiency, and we found 491 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between plants with high and low BNF efficiency. The annotation of genes expressed in nodules revealed more than 800 genes not yet experimentally confirmed. Among genes mediating nodule development, four nod-ule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides were confirmed in the nodule transcriptome. Gene duplication analyses revealed that genes originating from tandem and dispersed duplication are significantly over-represented among DEGs. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) organized expression profiles of the transcripts into 16 modules linked to the analyzed traits, such as nitrogen fixation efficiency or sample-specific modules. Overall, the results obtained broaden our knowledge about transcriptomic landscapes of red clover’s root nodules and shift the phenotypic description of BNF efficiency on the level of gene expression in situ. Full article
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10 pages, 1706 KiB  
Article
Members of SIAMESE-RELATED Class Inhibitor Proteins of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Retard G2 Progression and Increase Cell Size in Arabidopsis thaliana
by Kesuke J. Yamada, Hirotomo Takatsuka, Junya Hirota, Keto Mineta, Yuji Nomoto and Masaki Ito
Life 2022, 12(9), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12091356 - 31 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1763
Abstract
Cell size requires strict and flexible control as it significantly impacts plant growth and development. Unveiling the molecular mechanism underlying cell size control would provide fundamental insights into plants’ nature as sessile organisms. Recently, a GRAS family transcription factor SCARECROW-LIKE28 (SCL28) was identified [...] Read more.
Cell size requires strict and flexible control as it significantly impacts plant growth and development. Unveiling the molecular mechanism underlying cell size control would provide fundamental insights into plants’ nature as sessile organisms. Recently, a GRAS family transcription factor SCARECROW-LIKE28 (SCL28) was identified as a determinant of cell size in plants; specifically, SCL28 directly induces a subset of SIAMESE-RELATED (SMR) family genes encoding plant-specific inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases (i.e., SMR1, SMR2, SMR6, SMR8, SMR9, SMR13, and SMR14), thereby slowing down G2 phase progression to provide the time to increase cell volume. Of the SMR genes regulated by SCL28, genetic analysis has demonstrated that SMR1, SMR2, and SMR13 cooperatively regulate the cell size downstream of SCL28 in roots and leaves, whereas other SMR members’ contribution remains unexplored. This study shows that in root meristematic cells, SMR9 redundantly participates in cell size control with SMR1, SMR2, and SMR13. Moreover, our cell cycle analysis provides the first experimental evidence that SMR proteins inhibit the G2 progression of proliferating cells. Overall, these findings illuminate the diverse yet overlapping roles of SMR proteins in cell cycle regulation while reinforcing that SMRs are essential downstream effectors of SCL28 to modulate G2 progression and cell size. Full article
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12 pages, 1850 KiB  
Article
Meta-Analysis of RNA Sequencing Data of Arabidopsis and Rice under Hypoxia
by Keita Tamura and Hidemasa Bono
Life 2022, 12(7), 1079; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12071079 - 19 Jul 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5646
Abstract
Hypoxia is an abiotic stress in plants. Flooding resulting from climate change is a major crop threat that increases the risk of hypoxic stress. The molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia in plants were elucidated in recent years, but new genes related to this stress [...] Read more.
Hypoxia is an abiotic stress in plants. Flooding resulting from climate change is a major crop threat that increases the risk of hypoxic stress. The molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia in plants were elucidated in recent years, but new genes related to this stress remain to be discovered. Thus, we aimed to perform a meta-analysis of the RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) under hypoxia. We collected 29 (Arabidopsis) and 26 (rice) pairs of RNA-Seq data involving hypoxic (including submergence) and normoxic (control) treatments and extracted the genes that were commonly upregulated or downregulated in the majority of the experiments. The meta-analysis revealed 40 and 19 commonly upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively, in the two species. Several WRKY transcription factors and cinnamate-4-hydroxylase were commonly upregulated, but their involvement in hypoxia remains unclear. Our meta-analysis identified candidate genes for novel molecular mechanisms in plants under hypoxia. Full article
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12 pages, 4381 KiB  
Article
A Seed-Borne Bacterium of Rice, Pantoea dispersa BB1, Protects Rice from the Seedling Rot Caused by the Bacterial Pathogen Burkholderia glumae
by Yusuke Kouzai and Chiharu Akimoto-Tomiyama
Life 2022, 12(6), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12060791 - 26 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2709
Abstract
Seedling rot, caused by the bacterial pathogen Burkholderia glumae, is a major disease of rice. It originates from pathogen-contaminated seeds and is thus mainly controlled by pesticide treatments of seeds. We previously demonstrated that the seed-borne bacteria of rice may be a [...] Read more.
Seedling rot, caused by the bacterial pathogen Burkholderia glumae, is a major disease of rice. It originates from pathogen-contaminated seeds and is thus mainly controlled by pesticide treatments of seeds. We previously demonstrated that the seed-borne bacteria of rice may be a useful and sustainable alternative to pesticides to manage seedling rot, but they are limited in terms of variety. Here, we report that another seed-borne bacterium, Pantoea dispersa BB1, protects rice from B. glumae. We screened 72 bacterial isolates from rice seeds of three genetically different cultivars inoculated or non-inoculated with B. glumae. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that pathogen inoculation affected the composition of culturable seed-borne bacterial communities and increased the presence of Pantoea and Paenibacillus species. Among three Pantoea and Paenibacillus isolates that exhibit tolerance to toxoflavin, a virulence factor of B. glumae, P. dispersa BB1 significantly mitigated the symptoms of rice seedling rot. The culture filtrate of BB1 inhibited the growth of B. glumae in vitro, suggesting that this isolate secretes antibacterial compounds. Seed treatment with BB1 suppressed pathogen propagation in plants, although seed treatment with the culture filtrate did not. Because BB1 did not show pathogenicity in rice, our findings demonstrate that BB1 is a promising biocontrol agent against seedling rot. Full article
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12 pages, 2747 KiB  
Article
Manipulation of Insect Vectors’ Host Selection Behavior by Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus Is Dependent on the Host Plant Species and Viral Co-Infection
by Nami Minato, Shuichi Hatori, Azusa Okawa, Kai Nakagawa and Mantaro Hironaka
Life 2022, 12(5), 644; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12050644 - 26 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2152
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that vector-borne viruses can manipulate the host selection behavior of insect vectors, yet the tripartite interactions of pathogens, host plants and insect vectors have been documented only in a limited number of pathosystems. Here, we report that the host [...] Read more.
Previous studies have shown that vector-borne viruses can manipulate the host selection behavior of insect vectors, yet the tripartite interactions of pathogens, host plants and insect vectors have been documented only in a limited number of pathosystems. Here, we report that the host selection behavior of the insect vector of barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV (BYDV-PAV) and cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPS (CYDV-RPS) is dependent on the host plant species and viral co-infection. This study shows that a model cereal plant, Brachypodium distachyon, is a suitable host plant for examining tripartite interactions with BYDV-PAV and CYDV-RPS. We reveal that BYDV-PAV has a different effect on the host selection behavior of its insect vector depending on the host plant species. Viruliferous aphids significantly prefer non-infected plants to virus-infected wheat plants, whereas viral infection on a novel host plant, B. distachyon, is not implicated in the attraction of either viruliferous or nonviruliferous aphids. Furthermore, our findings show that multiple virus infections of wheat with BYDV-PAV and CYDV-RPS alter the preference of their vector aphid. This result indicates that BYDV-PAV acquisition alters the insect vector’s host selection, thereby varying the spread of multiple viruses. Full article
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10 pages, 615 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Oligopeptides in Solanum lycopersicum Xylem Exudates
by Satoru Okamoto, Azusa Kawasaki and Yumiko Makino
Life 2022, 12(4), 592; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040592 - 16 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1781
Abstract
The xylem is the main pathway for the transport of water and molecules from roots to shoots. To date, it has been reported that secreted oligopeptides mediate root-to-shoot signaling, and some long-distance mobile oligopeptides have been detected in xylem exudates. However, the conservation [...] Read more.
The xylem is the main pathway for the transport of water and molecules from roots to shoots. To date, it has been reported that secreted oligopeptides mediate root-to-shoot signaling, and some long-distance mobile oligopeptides have been detected in xylem exudates. However, the conservation of a number of oligopeptides and the overall features of peptide fragments contained in xylem exudates are poorly understood. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of small proteins and peptides in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) xylem exudates and characterized the identified peptide fragments. We found that putative secreted proteins were enriched in xylem exudates compared with all proteins in the tomato protein database. We identified seven oligopeptides that showed common features of bioactive oligopeptides, including homologs of CLV3/ESR-related (CLE), C-TERMINALLY ENCODED PEPTIDE (CEP), and CASPARIAN STRIP INTEGRITY FACTOR (CIF) peptides. Furthermore, five of the identified oligopeptides were homologs of the soybean xylem exudate-associated oligopeptides that we previously reported. Our results suggest that oligopeptides in xylem exudates are conserved across plant species and provide insights into not only root-to-shoot signaling but also the maintenance of the xylem conduit. Full article
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9 pages, 1572 KiB  
Article
Influence of Genotypic and Environmental Factors on Tobacco Leaves Based on Metabolomics
by Bo Fu, Junyang Liang, Mengmeng Zhang, Mingqin Zhao, Xiaoming Ji and Jing Wang
Life 2022, 12(4), 590; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040590 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1715
Abstract
Environmental factors affect plant metabolites, different climates, cultivation conditions, and biotic stresses and genotypes strongly affect their chemical composition and contents. Our aim is to examine the environmental and genetic interaction effects on tobacco metabolite composition. UPLC-QTOF MS/MS coupled with multivariate data analyses [...] Read more.
Environmental factors affect plant metabolites, different climates, cultivation conditions, and biotic stresses and genotypes strongly affect their chemical composition and contents. Our aim is to examine the environmental and genetic interaction effects on tobacco metabolite composition. UPLC-QTOF MS/MS coupled with multivariate data analyses were applied for the metabolomics analysis of three tobacco cultivars from different planting regions in China. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that environmental factors have a greater effect on tobacco metabolism compared to genotypes. Twelve biomarkers were screened by orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). Univariate analysis indicated that Malate, conjugated chlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin 3-rutinoside-7-glucoside, and unknown compound 5 were only influenced by environmental factors (independent of genotype). Quinate, neochlorogenic acid, and ouabagenin, taxezopidine K1, taxezopidine K2, and taxezopidine K3 in tobacco were influenced by the interaction of environmental factors and the genotype. Our results suggest that metabolomics based on UPLC-QTOF MS/MS could be used to analyze the ecological functions of biomarker metabolites and understand the mechanisms of plant adaption to the environment. Full article
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17 pages, 3968 KiB  
Article
Identification of Potential Genes Encoding Protein Transporters in Arabidopsis thaliana Glucosinolate (GSL) Metabolism
by Sarahani Harun, Nor Afiqah-Aleng, Fatin Izzati Abdul Hadi, Su Datt Lam and Zeti-Azura Mohamed-Hussein
Life 2022, 12(3), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12030326 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2140
Abstract
Several species in Brassicaceae produce glucosinolates (GSLs) to protect themselves against pests. As demonstrated in A. thaliana, the reallocation of defence compounds, of which GSLs are a major part, is highly dependent on transport processes and serves to protect high-value tissues such [...] Read more.
Several species in Brassicaceae produce glucosinolates (GSLs) to protect themselves against pests. As demonstrated in A. thaliana, the reallocation of defence compounds, of which GSLs are a major part, is highly dependent on transport processes and serves to protect high-value tissues such as reproductive tissues. This study aimed to identify potential GSL-transporter proteins (TPs) using a network-biology approach. The known A. thaliana GSL genes were retrieved from the literature and pathway databases and searched against several co-expression databases to generate a gene network consisting of 1267 nodes and 14,308 edges. In addition, 1151 co-expressed genes were annotated, integrated, and visualised using relevant bioinformatic tools. Based on three criteria, 21 potential GSL genes encoding TPs were selected. The AST68 and ABCG40 potential GSL TPs were chosen for further investigation because their subcellular localisation is similar to that of known GSL TPs (SULTR1;1 and SULTR1;2) and ABCG36, respectively. However, AST68 was selected for a molecular-docking analysis using AutoDOCK Vina and AutoDOCK 4.2 with the generated 3D model, showing that both domains were well superimposed on the homologs. Both molecular-docking tools calculated good binding-energy values between the sulphate ion and Ser419 and Val172, with the formation of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions, respectively, suggesting that AST68 was one of the sulphate transporters involved in GSL biosynthesis. This finding illustrates the ability to use computational analysis on gene co-expression data to screen and characterise plant TPs on a large scale to comprehensively elucidate GSL metabolism in A. thaliana. Most importantly, newly identified potential GSL transporters can serve as molecular tools in improving the nutritional value of crops. Full article
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25 pages, 4049 KiB  
Article
Bacillus mycoides PM35 Reinforces Photosynthetic Efficiency, Antioxidant Defense, Expression of Stress-Responsive Genes, and Ameliorates the Effects of Salinity Stress in Maize
by Baber Ali, Xiukang Wang, Muhammad Hamzah Saleem, Muhammad Atif Azeem, Muhammad Siddique Afridi, Mehwish Nadeem, Mehreen Ghazal, Tayyaba Batool, Ayesha Qayyum, Aishah Alatawi and Shafaqat Ali
Life 2022, 12(2), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12020219 - 30 Jan 2022
Cited by 69 | Viewed by 4853
Abstract
Soil salinity is one of the abiotic constraints that imbalance nutrient acquisition, hampers plant growth, and leads to potential loss in agricultural productivity. Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can alleviate the adverse impacts of salt stress by mediating molecular, biochemical, and physiological status. [...] Read more.
Soil salinity is one of the abiotic constraints that imbalance nutrient acquisition, hampers plant growth, and leads to potential loss in agricultural productivity. Salt-tolerant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can alleviate the adverse impacts of salt stress by mediating molecular, biochemical, and physiological status. In the present study, the bacterium Bacillus mycoides PM35 showed resistance up to 3 M NaCl stress and exhibited plant growth-promoting features. Under salinity stress, the halo-tolerant bacterium B. mycoides PM35 showed significant plant growth-promoting traits, such as the production of indole acetic acid, siderophore, ACC deaminase, and exopolysaccharides. Inoculation of B. mycoides PM35 alleviated salt stress in plants and enhanced shoot and root length under salinity stress (0, 300, 600, and 900 mM). The B. mycoides PM35 alleviated salinity stress by enhancing the photosynthetic pigments, carotenoids, radical scavenging capacity, soluble sugars, and protein content in inoculated maize plants compared to non-inoculated plants. In addition, B. mycoides PM35 significantly boosted antioxidant activities, relative water content, flavonoid, phenolic content, and osmolytes while reducing electrolyte leakage, H2O2, and MDA in maize compared to control plants. Genes conferring abiotic stress tolerance (CzcD, sfp, and srfAA genes) were amplified in B. mycoides PM35. Moreover, all reactions are accompanied by the upregulation of stress-related genes (APX and SOD). Our study reveals that B. mycoides PM35 is capable of promoting plant growth and increasing agricultural productivity. Full article
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12 pages, 5917 KiB  
Article
Surveillance of Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia solani Japanese Isolates with Varied Anastomosis Groups and Subgroups on Arabidopsis thaliana
by Mai Mohsen Ahmed Abdelghany, Maria Kurikawa, Megumi Watanabe, Hidenori Matsui, Mikihiro Yamamoto, Yuki Ichinose, Kazuhiro Toyoda, Yusuke Kouzai and Yoshiteru Noutoshi
Life 2022, 12(1), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12010076 - 06 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2598
Abstract
Rhizoctonia solani is a necrotrophic plant pathogen with a wide host range. R. solani is a species complex consisting of thirteen anastomosis groups (AGs) defined by compatibility of hyphal fusion reaction and subgroups based on cultural morphology. The relationship between such classifications and [...] Read more.
Rhizoctonia solani is a necrotrophic plant pathogen with a wide host range. R. solani is a species complex consisting of thirteen anastomosis groups (AGs) defined by compatibility of hyphal fusion reaction and subgroups based on cultural morphology. The relationship between such classifications and host specificity remains elusive. Here, we investigated the pathogenicity of seventeen R. solani isolates (AG-1 to 7) in Japan towards Arabidopsis thaliana using leaf and soil inoculations. The tested AGs, except AG-3 and AG-6, induced symptoms in both methods with variations in pathogenicity. The virulence levels differed even within the same AG and subgroup. Some isolates showed tissue-specific infection behavior. Thus, the AGs and their subgroups are suggested to be not enough to define the virulence (host and tissue specificity) of R. solani. We also evaluated the virulence of the isolates on Arabidopsis plants pretreated with salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene. No obvious effects were detected on the symptom formation by the virulence isolates, but ethylene and salicylic acid slightly enhanced the susceptibility to the weak and nonvirulent isolates. R. solani seems to be able to overcome the induced defense by these phytohormones in the infection to Arabidopsis. Full article
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2021

Jump to: 2023, 2022

10 pages, 780 KiB  
Article
Origin of Pathogens of Grapevine Crown Gall Disease in Hokkaido in Japan as Characterized by Molecular Epidemiology of Allorhizobium vitis Strains
by Akira Kawaguchi, Teruo Sone, Sunao Ochi, Yosuke Matsushita, Yoshiteru Noutoshi and Mizuho Nita
Life 2021, 11(11), 1265; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11111265 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1815
Abstract
Crown gall is a globally distributed and economically important disease of grapevine and other important crop plants. The causal agent of grapevine crown gall is tumorigenic Allorhizobium vitis (Ti) strains that harbor a tumor-inducing plasmid (pTi). The epidemic of grapevine crown gall has [...] Read more.
Crown gall is a globally distributed and economically important disease of grapevine and other important crop plants. The causal agent of grapevine crown gall is tumorigenic Allorhizobium vitis (Ti) strains that harbor a tumor-inducing plasmid (pTi). The epidemic of grapevine crown gall has not been widely elucidated. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of 89 strains of Ti and nonpathogenic A. vitis to clarify their molecular epidemiology. Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) of the partial nucleotide sequences of pyrG, recA, and rpoD was performed for molecular typing of A. vitis strains isolated from grapevines with crown gall symptoms grown in 30 different vineyards, five different countries, mainly in Japan, and seven genomic groups A to F were obtained. The results of MLSA and logistic regression indicated that the population of genetic group A was significantly related to a range of prefectures and that the epidemic of group A strains originated mainly in Hokkaido in Japan through soil infection. Moreover, group E strains could have been transported by infected nursery stocks. In conclusion, this study indicates that both soil infection and transporting of infected nursery stocks are working as infection source in Hokkaido. Full article
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