Rajakumar Priya, Baharum Nadiya Akmal, Lutfi Afiqah Insyirah, Sadali Najiah Mohd, Mispan Muhamad Shakirin, Kuang Lim Lian, Ling Yap Seong, Khalid Norzulaani, Rejab Nur Ardiyana
Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Plant Pathol J. 2024 Oct;40(5):463-474. doi: 10.5423/PPJ.OA.05.2024.0083. Epub 2024 Oct 1.
Bananas (Musa spp.), which serve millions of people worldwide, face a serious threat from Fusarium wilt (FW) disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). Developing disease-resistant varieties particularly through breeding is challenging due to banana's seedless nature (parthenocarpic). As an alternative, cold plasma (CP) technology, has the potential to be used for crop improvement. Our study demonstrates a favourable impact of CP on the growth performance of banana (Berangan cultivar, AAA) in terms of height, leaf number and stem diameter. CP-treated plants also displayed delayed disease progression as well as lower disease severity indicated by slightly lower value of leaf symptoms index and rhizome discoloration index compared to the control plants. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed differential expression of several defence (PR1, WRKY22, PAL, and CEBiP) and growth (Cytochrome P450, NAC68, and CAT) related genes in CP-treated plants, particularly in conjunction with Foc infection. These findings shed light on the potential use of CP in managing FW in banana and offer insights into possible mechanism behind improved traits.
香蕉（芭蕉属）是全球数百万人的食物来源，但却面临着由尖孢镰刀菌古巴专化型（Foc）引起的枯萎病（FW）的严重威胁。由于香蕉无籽（单性结实）的特性，培育抗病品种尤其是通过育种来培育抗病品种具有挑战性。作为一种替代方法，冷等离子体（CP）技术有潜力用于作物改良。我们的研究表明，CP对香蕉（Berangan品种，AAA）的生长性能在株高、叶片数量和茎直径方面有积极影响。与对照植株相比，经CP处理的植株病害进展也有所延迟，且病害严重程度较低，叶片症状指数和根茎变色指数的值略低就表明了这一点。此外，定量实时聚合酶链反应分析显示，经CP处理的植株中，尤其是在与Foc感染相关联时，几个与防御（PR1、WRKY22、PAL和CEBiP）和生长（细胞色素P450、NAC68和CAT）相关的基因表达存在差异。这些发现揭示了CP在防治香蕉枯萎病方面的潜在用途，并为性状改善背后的可能机制提供了见解。
