Degani Ofir, Dor Shlomit, Abraham Dekel, Cohen Roni
Department of Plant Sciences, Migal-Galilee Research Institute, Tarshish 2, Kiryat Shmona 11016, Israel.
Faculty Sciences, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, Tel-Hai 12210, Israel.
Microorganisms. 2020 Feb 13;8(2):249. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms8020249.
Fungal pathogens are a significant threat to crops worldwide. The soil fungus, , severely affects sensitive maize hybrids by causing the rapid wilting of plants at the maturity stage. Similarly, the soil fungus, , develops in a variety of host plants, which leads to rot and plant mortality. The presence of both pathogens together in diseased cotton plants in Israel suggests possible interactions between them. Here, these relationships were tested in a series of experiments accompanied by real-time PCR tracking in maize and cotton. Despite the fact that neither of the pathogens was superior in a growth plate confrontation assay, their co-inoculum had a significant influence under field conditions. In maize sprouts and fully matured plants, infection by both pathogens (compared to inoculation with each of them alone) led to lesser amounts of DNA but to increased amounts of DNA levels. These results were obtained under a restricted water regime, while optimal water irrigation led to less pronounced differences. In water-stressed cotton sprouts, infection with both pathogens led to an increase in DNA amounts of each of the pathogens. Whereas the DNA levels in the double infection remain high at the end of the season, a reduction in the amount of DNA was observed. The double infection caused an increase in growth parameters in maize and cotton and decreased levels of dehydration in maize plants accompanied by an increase in yield production. Dehydration symptoms were minor in cotton under an optimal water supply. However, under a restricted water regime, the double infection abolished the harmful effect of on the plants' development and yield. These findings are the first report of interactions between these two pathogens in maize and cotton, and they encourage expanding the study to additional plant hosts and examining the potential involvement of other pathogens.
真菌病原体对全球农作物构成重大威胁。土壤真菌，[具体真菌名称1]，通过在成熟阶段导致植物迅速枯萎，严重影响敏感的玉米杂交品种。同样，土壤真菌，[具体真菌名称2]，在多种寄主植物中生长，导致腐烂和植物死亡。以色列患病棉花植株中这两种病原体同时存在，表明它们之间可能存在相互作用。在此，通过一系列实验并结合玉米和棉花中的实时PCR跟踪对这些关系进行了测试。尽管在生长平板对抗试验中两种病原体都不占优势，但它们的共同接种在田间条件下有显著影响。在玉米芽和完全成熟的植株中，两种病原体同时感染（与单独接种每种病原体相比）导致[具体DNA名称1]的DNA量减少，但[具体DNA名称2]的DNA水平增加。这些结果是在水分受限的条件下获得的，而最佳水分灌溉导致差异不那么明显。在水分胁迫的棉花芽中，两种病原体同时感染导致每种病原体的DNA量增加。虽然在季节结束时双重感染中[具体DNA名称2]的DNA水平仍然很高，但观察到[具体DNA名称1]的DNA量减少。双重感染导致玉米和棉花的生长参数增加，玉米植株的脱水水平降低，同时产量增加。在最佳水分供应下，棉花的脱水症状较轻。然而，在水分受限的条件下，双重感染消除了[具体病原体名称1]对植物发育和产量的有害影响。这些发现是关于这两种病原体在玉米和棉花中相互作用的首次报道，它们鼓励将研究扩展到其他植物寄主，并研究其他病原体的潜在参与情况。
