Avijit Tarafdar

Genome wide transcriptome profiling of Fusarium oxysporum f sp. ciceris conidial germination reveals new insights into infection-related genes

Vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (Foc) is a serious disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) accounting for approximately 10–15% annual crop loss. The fungus invades the plant via roots, colonizes the xylem vessels and prevents the upward translocation of water and nutrients. Infection is initiated by conidia that invade the host tissue often by penetration of intact epidermal cells. Here, we report the characterization of the transcriptome of Foc sequenced using Illumina Hiseq technology during its conidial germination at different time points. Genome-wide expression profiling revealed that genes linked to fungal development are transcribed in successive ways. Analysis showed that Foc have large sets of germination-related genes and families of genes encoding secreted effectors, cell wall/pectin-degrading enzymes, metabolism related enzymes, transporters and peptidases. We found that metabolism related enzymes are up-regulated at early time point whereas most transporters and secondary metabolites important for tissue colonization and pathogenicity are up-regulated later as evident from the qRT-PCR. The study demonstrated that early conidial germination in Foc is accompanied by rapid shifts in gene expression that prepare the fungus for germ tube outgrowth, host cell invasion and pathogenesis. This work lays the foundation for facilitating further research towards understanding this host-pathogen interaction.

Identification of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid gene (phc CD) from Bacillus pumilus MTCC7615 and its role in antagonism against Rhizoctonia solani.

Bacillus pumilus MTCC7615, a biocontrol agent isolated from rice rhizosphere was characterized to be antagonistic to Rhizoctonia solani, the pathogen causing sheath blight disease of rice. The phenazine-1-carboxylic acid gene (phc CD) of this bacterium was PCR amplified (1400 bp), cloned, and sequenced. The sequence analysis revealed the presence of two ORFs of phc CD gene commonly found in Pseudomonas species. The sequence showed 98% similarity to phc CD gene of the Pseudomonas isolate LBUM223 (DQ788993). The crude antibiotic extract from B. pumilus MTCC7615 was observed to inhibit mycelial growth of R. solani under in vitro conditions. The HPLC analysis of crude antibiotic extract from B. pumilus MTCC7615 confirmed the presence of phenazine. The study has also reported the presence of phc CD gene which is responsible for the synthesis of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid in B. pumilus. The ability of the bacterial isolate to control sheath blight disease in rice seedlings under in vivo conditions was confirmed by the pot culture experiment. The structural and functional genomics of phc C and phc D genes would lead to a better understanding of phenazine biosynthesis in B. pumilus for its efficient utilization in plant protection strategies.

Rapid and sensitive diagnoses of dry root rot pathogen of chickpea ( Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub.) Butler) using loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay

Dry root rot (DRR) caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub.) Butler, is an emerging disease in chickpea. The disease is often mistaken with other root rots like Fusarium wilt, collar rot and black root rot in chickpea. Therefore, its timely and specific detection is important. Current detection protocols are either based on mycological methods or on protocols involving DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Here we report the rapid and specific detection of R. bataticola using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting fungal specific 5.8S rDNA sequence for visual detection of R. bataticola. The reaction was optimized at 63 °C for 75 min using minimum 10 fg of DNA. After adding SYBR Green I in LAMP products, the amplification was found to be highly specific in all the 94 isolates of R. bataticola collected from diverse geographical regions as well as DRR infected plants and sick soil. No reaction was found in other pathogenic fungi infecting chickpea (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii and Fusarium solani) and pigeonpea (Fusarium udum and Phytophthora cajani). The standardised LAMP assay with its simplicity, rapidity and specificity is very useful for the visual detection of this emerging disease in chickpea.

Use of Genomic Approaches in Understanding the Role of Actinomycetes as PGP in Grain Legumes

The advancement in molecular technologies has given a breakthrough to explore the untapped and novel microbial isolates for characterization in every aspect as we can consider microbes as an important primary natural store house for key secondary metabolites and enzymes. Actinomycetes are the most fruitful source of microorganisms for all types of bioactive secondary metabolites, including agroactive-antibiotic molecules that are best recognized and most valuable for their role in agriculture and industries. In agriculture, actinomycetes are used as biocontrol agents against some pests and pathogenic organisms as well as plant growth-promoting (PGP) agents for crops. Use of different molecular methods, e.g., metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, genetic fingerprinting, proteogenomics, and metaproteomics, are more significant for classifying and discovering the immense diversity in microbial population and for understanding their interactions with other abiotic and biotic environmental elements. The opportunity of accessing inexpensive sequencing techniques has led to the assemblies of copious genomic data for actinomycetes, such as Streptomyces and related species, with the goal of discovering novel bioactive metabolic and their utility as PGP; however, the use of actinomycetes in agriculture using genomic approaches is in its initial stages.

Exploring Combined Effect of Abiotic (Soil Moisture) and Biotic (Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.) Stress on Collar Rot Development in Chickpea

Plants being sessile are under constant threat of multiple abiotic and biotic stresses within its natural habitat. A combined stress involving an abiotic and a biotic factor reportedly increases susceptibility of the plants to pathogens. The emerging threat, collar rot disease of chickpea (caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.) is reported to be influenced by soil moisture condition (SMC). Hence, we studied the influence of differential SMC viz. upper optimum (100%), optimum (80%), lower optimum (60%), and limiting (40%) soil moisture conditions on colonization and collar rot development over the course of infection in two chickpea cultivars, Annigeri (susceptible to collar rot) and ICCV 05530 (moderately resistant to collar rot). Disease incidence was found to be directly proportional to increase in soil moisture (R2 = 0.794). Maximum incidence was observed at 80% SMC, followed by 100 and 60% SMC. Expression of genes (qPCR analysis) associated with host cell wall binding (lectin) and degradation viz. endopolygalacturonase-2, endoglucosidase, and cellobiohydrolase during collar rot development in chickpea were relatively less at limiting soil moisture condition (40%) as compared to optimum soil moisture condition (80%). As compared to individual stress, the expression of defense response genes in chickpea seedlings were highly up-regulated in seedlings challenged with combined stress. Our qPCR results indicated that the expression of defense-related genes in chickpea during interaction with S. rolfsii at low SMC was primarily responsible for delayed disease reaction. Involvement of moisture and biotic stress-related genes in combined stress showed a tailored defense mechanism.