Nanofibrillation is an Effective Method to Produce Chitin Derivatives for Induction of Plant Responses in Soybean

Abstract

<jats:p>Chitin, an N-acetylglucosamine polymer, is well-known to have unique biological functions, such as growth promotion and disease resistance induction in plants. Chitin has been expectedly used for improving crop yield using its functions; however, chitin derivatives, such as chitin oligosaccharide (CO) and chitosan, are widely used instead since chitin is difficult to handle because of its insolubility. Chitin nanofiber (CNF), produced from chitin through nanofibrillation, retains its polymeric structure and can be dispersed uniformly even in water. Here, the effects of CO and CNF on plant responses were directly compared in soybeans (Glycine max) to define the most effective method to produce chitin derivatives for plant response induction. The growth promotion of aerial parts was observed only in CNF-treated plants. The transcriptome analysis showed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CNF-treated soybeans was higher than in CO-treated soybeans. Notably, the expression patterns of DEGs were mostly similar but were strongly induced by CNF treatment as compared with the CO group. These results reveal that CNF can induce stronger plant response to chitin than CO in soybeans, suggesting nanofibrillation, rather than oligomerization, as a more effective method to produce chitin derivatives for plant response induction.</jats:p>

Chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice requires both OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP and is mediated via perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves

“…CNF supplementation of soils resulted in more DEGs than COs supplementation in rice leaves, ( Figure 2 ), as was previously observed with the transcriptomes of soybean ( Glycine max ) roots grown in soils mixed with COs or CNF ( Kaminaka et al., 2020 ). In addition, the RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that the expression patterns of DEGs in rice leaves are similar between soils supplemented with COs and CNF, with some differences as well ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…The knockout mutant and segregating wild-type siblings of oscebip line 169 and oscerk1 lines 19 and 53 were used in this study. The COs (the mixture of DP [degree of polymerization] 2-6 chitin oligomers; NA-COS-Y; Yaizu Suisankagaku Industry, Japan) solution and CNF dispersion in water were prepared as previously reported ( Kaminaka et al., 2020 ). Rice seeds were soaked in distilled water (DW) for germination at 28°C for 3 or 4 days in the dark, and the germinated seeds were transplanted into sterilized culture soil (Bestmix No.…”

Chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice requires both OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP and is mediated via perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves

“…By contrast, CNF supplementation of soils resulted in more DEGs than CO supplementation (Fig. 2 ), as was previously observed with the transcriptomes of soybean ( Glycine max ) roots grown in soils mixed with COs or CNF (Kaminaka et al ., 2020). In addition, the RNA-seq analysis of the chitin receptor mutants demonstrated that the expression patterns of DEGs in rice leaves are similar between soils supplemented with COs and CNF, with some differences as well (Fig.…”

“…Plants were grown in a growth cabinet (BiOTRON; NK-systems, Japan) under controlled conditions (28°C 14-h-light/25°C 10-h-dark cycles) and fertilised once a week with a 1:1000 HYPONeX (6-10-5; HYPONeX, Japan) solution. The COs (the mixture of DP [degree of polymerization] 2-6 chitin oligomers; NA-COS-Y; Yaizu Suisankagaku Industry, Japan) solution and CNF dispersion in water were prepared as previously reported (Kaminaka et al ., 2020). The cell-wall biosynthesis inhibitor isoxaben (ISX; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Germany) was resolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and a dilution in DW was sprayed onto leaves 5 h before sampling.…”

Comparative analysis of infected cassava root transcriptomics reveals candidate genes for root rot disease resistance

“…Based on functional enrichment analyses, these genes were significantly associated with cellular metabolic processes, such as oxidoreductase activity ( GO:0016491 ) involved in defense signaling pathways 29 ; NTP binding of purine ( GO:0035639 ), precursors of metabolite biosynthesis, essential in RNA synthesis and energetic coupling reactions 30 ; binding of adenosine 5'-diphosphate -ADP ( GO:0043531 ). Furthermore, associated with components of the structure of leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) involved in plant immune responses 31 , coenzyme binding ( GO:0050662 ), present in the response of other transcriptomes to biotic and abiotic stresses 32 , 33 and drug binding ( GO:0008144 ), also associated with responses to biotic and abiotic stresses 34 . Therefore, constitutively, enriched GO terms related to signaling pathways and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses were reported in the resistant genotype.…”