Endophytes confer unique ecological advantages to their host plants. In this study, we have characterized the diversity of endophytic consortia associated with the GPU-28 (GPU) and Udurumallige (UM) finger millet varieties, which are resistant and susceptible to the blast disease, respectively. Whole genome metagenome sequencing of GPU and UM helped to identify 1029 species (includes obligate endophytes) of microbiota. Among them, 385 and 357 species were unique to GPU and UM, respectively. Remaining 287 species were common to both the varieties. Actinobacteria and other plant-growth promoting bacteria were abundant in GPU as compared to UM. Functional annotation of genes predicted from genomes of endophytes associated with GPU variety showed that many genes had functional role in stress response, secondary metabolism, aromatic compounds, glutathione, and cysteine synthesis pathways as compared to UM. Based on in vitro and in planta studies, Bacillus cereus and Paenibacillus spp. were found to be effective in suppressing the growth of blast disease pathogen Magnaporthe grisea (strain MG03). In the future, these strains could serve as potential biocontrol agents to reduce the incidence of blast disease in finger millet crop.
Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is the major threat to tomato cultivation in all tomato growing areas of Karnataka. R. solanacearum was isolated from the infected host plants collected from different locations of southern Karnataka. The identity of the isolates was established using morphological, biochemical, and molecular analysis using species specific PCR primers. The race and biovar specificity of pathogen was determined through pathogenicity test on different host plants and the ability of isolates to use carbohydrates, respectively. Phylotype classification was done by phylotype specific multiplex PCR using phylotype specific primers. All the bacterial isolates showed the characteristic creamy white fluidal growth with pink centre on the Tetrazolium chloride medium. Further, the isolates amplified at 280 bp, which confirmed the identity of pathogen as Ralstonia solanacearum. Our results showed that all isolates belonged to Race 1 of the pathogen. Among different isolates obtained, four isolates each were identified to be Biovar III and Biovar IIIA, repectively, while two isolates were identified as Biovar IIIB. All the ten isolates were affiliated to Phylotype I of Ralstonia solanaceraum species complex. These findings may help in devising the management practices for bacterial wilt of tomato in southern Karnataka.
Background Stalk lodging (breaking of agricultural plant stalks prior to harvest) is a multi-billion dollar a year problem. Stalk lodging occurs when high winds induce bending moments in the stalk which exceed the bending strength of the plant. Previous biomechanical models of plant stalks have investigated the effect of cross-sectional morphology on stalk lodging resistance (e.g., diameter and rind thickness). However, it is unclear if the location of stalk failure along the length of stem is determined by morphological or compositional factors. It is also unclear if the crops are structurally optimized, i.e., if the plants allocate structural biomass to create uniform and minimal bending stresses in the plant tissues. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate the relationship between bending stress and failure location of maize stalks, and (2) to investigate the potential of phenotyping for internode-level bending stresses to assess lodging resistance. Results 868 maize specimens representing 16 maize hybrids were successfully tested in bending to failure. Internode morphology was measured, and bending stresses were calculated. It was found that bending stress is highly and positively associated with failure location. A user-friendly computational tool is presented to help plant breeders in phenotyping for internode-level bending stress. Phenotyping for internode-level bending stresses could potentially be used to breed for more biomechanically optimal stalks that are resistant to stalk lodging. Conclusions Internode-level bending stress plays a potentially critical role in the structural integrity of plant stems. Equations and tools provided herein enable researchers to account for this phenotype, which has the potential to increase the bending strength of plants without increasing overall structural biomass.
Background: Stalk lodging (breaking of agricultural plant stalks prior to harvest) is a multi-billion dollar a year problem. Stalk lodging occurs when high winds induce bending moments in the stalk which exceed the bending strength of the plant. Previous biomechanical models of plant stalks have investigated the effect of cross-sectional morphology on stalk lodging resistance (e.g., diameter and rind thickness). However, it is unclear if the location of stalk failure along the length of stem is determined by morphological or compositional factors. It is also unclear if the crops are structurally optimized, i.e., if the plants allocate structural biomass to create uniform and minimal bending stresses in the plant tissues. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate the relationship between bending stress and failure location of maize stalks, and (2) to investigate the potential of phenotyping for internode-level bending stresses to assess lodging resistance. Results: 868 maize specimens representing 16 maize hybrids were successfully tested in bending to failure. Internode morphology was measured, and bending stresses were calculated. It was found that bending stress is highly and positively associated with failure location. A user-friendly computational tool is presented to help plant breeders in phenotyping for internode-level bending stress. Phenotyping for internode-level bending stresses could potentially be used to breed for more biomechanically optimal stalks that are resistant to stalk lodging. Conclusions: Internode-level bending stress plays a potentially critical role in the structural integrity of plant stems. Equations and tools provided herein enable researchers to account for this phenotype, which has the potential to increase the bending strength of plants without increasing overall structural biomass.
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