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Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops
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Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 11100

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Muhammad Irfan Siddique

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Horticultural Science, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research, and Extension Center, North Carolina State University, 455 Research Dr., Mills River, NC 28759, USA
Interests: molecular breeding and genetics; molecular plant pathology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural crop production is affected by several abiotic and biotic factors. Among them, horticultural crop diseases are major constraints affecting global production. Therefore, the development of disease-resistant and high-yielding varieties is a primary objective for horticultural crop breeders and biotechnologists. The identification of new sources of resistance and exploring mechanisms underlying resistance factors could enhance germ plasm availability for disease resistance breeding programs. The presence of diverse plant pathogens (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and mycoplasma), resistant types, and crop production systems makes “genetics of disease resistance” a multi-disciplinary field. This requires broad knowledge of related subjects such as quantitative genetics, plant pathology, molecular biology, and plant breeding. In recent years, advancement in plant biotechnology techniques and next-generation sequencing methods have opened up new avenues for analyzing sources of resistance, understanding genetics of disease resistance, allele mining, and the deployment of resistance alleles. The integration of advanced technologies with traditional approaches can expedite breeding for disease resistance in horticultural crops.

This Special Issue of Plants focuses on understanding the genetics of disease resistance in horticultural crops using conventional and modern technologies. We would like to cover related research topics (e.g., screening for disease resistance, bi-prenatal and association mapping for resistant genes or QTLs, functional studies of resistant genes, and development of molecular markers for selection), providing comprehensive insight to understand genetics for disease resistance in horticultural crops and to breed superior cultivars.

Dr. Muhammad Irfan Siddique
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • horticultural crops disease resistance
  • R genes
  • quantitative trait loci
  • next-generation sequencing technologies
  • genome editing
  • molecular markers
  • marker-assisted selection

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2698 KiB  
Article
Genetic Transformation of Torenia fournieri L. with the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab Gene Confers Resistance to Mythimna separata (Walker)
by Lin Chen, Pei Wang, Lixia Tan, Houhua Li and Dun Wang
Plants 2024, 13(24), 3568; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243568 - 20 Dec 2024
Viewed by 997
Abstract
Torenia fournieri L. is a popular ornamental plant in the genus Torenia, widely used in commercial landscaping, especially during the summer. Additionally, Torenia has served as a model ornamental plant in many studies exploring ornamental characteristics and pest control through genetic engineering. To [...] Read more.
Torenia fournieri L. is a popular ornamental plant in the genus Torenia, widely used in commercial landscaping, especially during the summer. Additionally, Torenia has served as a model ornamental plant in many studies exploring ornamental characteristics and pest control through genetic engineering. To date, no research has been reported on developing insect-resistant Torenia expressing genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). In this study, a recombinant vector carrying the Cry1Ab gene from Bt, pBI121-Cry1Ab, was constructed and transferred into T. fournieri via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. A total of 13 shoots survived on the kanamycin selection medium, among which four putative transgenic lines, designated L1, L2, L7, and L11, were molecularly confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis, indicating successful integration of the Cry1Ab gene into the genomes of these lines. Quantitative real-time PCR and ELISA results further verified the successful expression of the Cry1Ab gene in the leaves of all four transgenic lines. Insect bioassay results demonstrated that all four transgenic lines showed strong resistance to the insect pest, Mythimna separata, with mortality rates ranging from 59.9% to 100.0%, in contrast to a larval mortality rate of 16.2% in the wild-type Torenia. Additionally, these transgenic lines significantly decreased in larval survival rates compared to those fed on wild-type plants. Furthermore, these transgenic lines activated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity at 12 and 24 h, and catalase (CAT) activity at 72 h, while suppressing SOD activity at 72 h, and peroxidase (POD) activity over time. Our findings indicate that these transgenic lines exhibit high resistance to the insect pest and provide new insights into controlling insect pests in ornamental plants through genetic approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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13 pages, 1347 KiB  
Article
A Sustainable Strategy for Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) Applied in Grapevine (Vitis spp.) Breeding for Resistance to Downy (Plasmopara Viticola) and Powdery (Erysiphe Necator) Mildews
by Tyrone Possamai, Leonardo Scota, Riccardo Velasco and Daniele Migliaro
Plants 2024, 13(14), 2001; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13142001 - 22 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1570
Abstract
Plant breeders utilize marker-assisted selection (MAS) to identify favorable or unfavorable alleles in seedlings early. In this task, they need methods that provide maximum information with minimal input of time and economic resources. Grape breeding aimed at producing cultivars resistant to pathogens employs [...] Read more.
Plant breeders utilize marker-assisted selection (MAS) to identify favorable or unfavorable alleles in seedlings early. In this task, they need methods that provide maximum information with minimal input of time and economic resources. Grape breeding aimed at producing cultivars resistant to pathogens employs several resistance loci (Rpv, Ren, and Run) that are ideal for implementing MAS. In this work, a sustainable MAS protocol was developed based on non-purified DNA (crude), multiplex PCR of SSR markers, and capillary electrophoresis, and its application on grapevine seedlings to follow some main resistance loci was described. The optimized protocol was utilized on 8440 samples and showed high efficiency, reasonable throughput (2–3.2 min sample), easy handling, flexibility, and tolerable costs (reduced by at least 3.5 times compared to a standard protocol). The Rpv, Ren, and Run allelic data analysis did not show limitations to loci combination and pyramiding, but segregation distortions were frequent and displayed both low (undesired) and high rates of inheritance. The protocol and results presented are useful tools for grape breeders and beyond, and they can address sustainable changes in MAS. Several progenies generated have valuable pyramided resistance and will be the subject of new studies and implementation in the breeding program. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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15 pages, 5092 KiB  
Article
A 14-3-3 Protein Ca16R Acts Positively in Pepper Immunity against Ralstonia solanacearum by Interacting with CaASR1
by Sheng Yang, Meiyun Wan, Xingge Cheng, Qing Cheng and Huolin Shen
Plants 2024, 13(10), 1289; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13101289 - 7 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1723
Abstract
Although 14-3-3 proteins have been implicated in plant growth, development, and stress response, their roles in pepper immunity against R. solanacearum remain poorly understood. In this study, a 14-3-3-encoding gene in pepper, Ca16R, was found to be upregulated by R. solanacearum inoculation [...] Read more.
Although 14-3-3 proteins have been implicated in plant growth, development, and stress response, their roles in pepper immunity against R. solanacearum remain poorly understood. In this study, a 14-3-3-encoding gene in pepper, Ca16R, was found to be upregulated by R. solanacearum inoculation (RSI), its silencing significantly reduced the resistance of pepper plants to RSI, and its overexpression significantly enhanced the resistance of Nicotiana benthamiana to RSI. Consistently, its transient overexpression in pepper leaves triggered HR cell death, indicating that it acts positively in pepper immunity against RSI, and it was further found to act positively in pepper immunity against RSI by promoting SA but repressing JA signaling. Ca16R was also found to interact with CaASR1, originally using pull-down combined with a spectrum assay, and then confirmed using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and a pull-down assay. Furthermore, we found that CaASR1 transient overexpression induced HR cell death and SA-dependent immunity while repressing JA signaling, although this induction and repression was blocked by Ca16R silencing. All these data indicate that Ca16R acts positively in pepper immunity against RSI by interacting with CaASR1, thereby promoting SA-mediated immunity while repressing JA signaling. These results provide new insight into mechanisms underlying pepper immunity against RSI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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13 pages, 1883 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping for Bacterial Wilt Resistance and Plant Height in Tomatoes
by Muhammad Irfan Siddique, Emily Silverman, Frank Louws and Dilip R. Panthee
Plants 2024, 13(6), 876; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060876 - 19 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2593
Abstract
Bacterial wilt (BW) of tomatoes, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is a devastating disease that results in large annual yield losses worldwide. Management of BW of tomatoes is difficult due to the soil-borne nature of the pathogen. One of the best ways to [...] Read more.
Bacterial wilt (BW) of tomatoes, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is a devastating disease that results in large annual yield losses worldwide. Management of BW of tomatoes is difficult due to the soil-borne nature of the pathogen. One of the best ways to mitigate the losses is through breeding for disease resistance. Moreover, plant height (PH) is a crucial element related to plant architecture, which determines nutrient management and mechanical harvesting in tomatoes. An intraspecific F2 segregating population (NC 11212) of tomatoes was developed by crossing NC 84173 (tall, BW susceptible) × CLN1466EA (short, BW resistant). We performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping using single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers and the NC 11212 F2 segregating population. The QTL analysis for BW resistance revealed a total of three QTLs on chromosomes 1, 2, and 3, explaining phenotypic variation (R2) ranging from 3.6% to 14.9%, whereas the QTL analysis for PH also detected three QTLs on chromosomes 1, 8, and 11, explaining R2 ranging from 7.1% to 11%. This work thus provides information to improve BW resistance and plant architecture-related traits in tomatoes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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19 pages, 3280 KiB  
Article
Deciphering the Enhancing Impact of Exogenous Brassinolide on Physiological Indices of Melon Plants under Downy Mildew-Induced Stress
by Tai Liu, Huichun Xu, Sikandar Amanullah, Zhiqiang Du, Xixi Hu, Ye Che, Ling Zhang, Zeyu Jiang, Lei Zhu and Di Wang
Plants 2024, 13(6), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060779 - 9 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1696
Abstract
Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a valuable horticultural crop of the Cucurbitaceae family. Downy mildew (DM), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is a significant inhibitor of the production and quality of melon. Brassinolide (BR) is a new type of phytohormone widely used [...] Read more.
Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a valuable horticultural crop of the Cucurbitaceae family. Downy mildew (DM), caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is a significant inhibitor of the production and quality of melon. Brassinolide (BR) is a new type of phytohormone widely used in cultivation for its broad spectrum of resistance- and defense-mechanism-improving activity. In this study, we applied various exogenous treatments (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg·L−1) of BR at four distinct time periods (6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h) and explored the impact of BR on physiological indices and the genetic regulation of melon seedling leaves infected by downy-mildew-induced stress. It was mainly observed that a 2.0 mg·L−1 BR concentration effectively promoted the enhanced photosynthetic activity of seedling leaves, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis similarly exhibited an upregulated expression of the predicted regulatory genes of photosystem II (PSII) CmHCF136 (MELO3C023596.2) and CmPsbY (MELO3C010708.2), thus indicating the stability of the PSII reaction center. Furthermore, 2.0 mg·L−1 BR resulted in more photosynthetic pigments (nearly three times more than the chlorophyll contents (264.52%)) as compared to the control and other treatment groups and similarly upregulated the expression trend of the predicted key enzyme genes CmLHCP (MELO3C004214.2) and CmCHLP (MELO3C017176.2) involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis. Meanwhile, the maximum contents of soluble sugars and starch (186.95% and 164.28%) were also maintained, which were similarly triggered by the upregulated expression of the predicted genes CmGlgC (MELO3C006552.2), CmSPS (MELO3C020357.2), and CmPEPC (MELO3C018724.2), thereby maintaining osmotic adjustment and efficiency in eliminating reactive oxygen species. Overall, the exogenous 2.0 mg·L−1 BR exhibited maintained antioxidant activities, plastid membranal stability, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The chlorophyll fluorescence parameter values of F0 (42.23%) and Fv/Fm (36.67%) were also noticed to be higher; however, nearly three times higher levels of NPQ (375.86%) and Y (NPQ) (287.10%) were observed at 48 h of treatment as compared to all other group treatments. Increased Rubisco activity was also observed (62.89%), which suggested a significant role for elevated carbon fixation and assimilation and the upregulated expression of regulatory genes linked with Rubisco activity and the PSII reaction process. In short, we deduced that the 2.0 mg·L−1 BR application has an enhancing effect on the genetic modulation of physiological indices of melon plants against downy mildew disease stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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15 pages, 3937 KiB  
Article
Salicylic and Jasmonic Acid Synergism during Black Knot Disease Progression in Plums
by Ranjeet Shinde, Murali-Mohan Ayyanath, Mukund Shukla, Walid El Kayal, Praveen Kumar Saxena and Jayasankar Subramanian
Plants 2024, 13(2), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13020292 - 18 Jan 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1661
Abstract
Black knot (BK) is a deadly disease of European (Prunus domestica) and Japanese (Prunus salicina) plums caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Apiosporina morbosa. Generally, phytopathogens hamper the balance of primary defense phytohormones, such as salicylic acid (SA)–jasmonic acid (JA) [...] Read more.
Black knot (BK) is a deadly disease of European (Prunus domestica) and Japanese (Prunus salicina) plums caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Apiosporina morbosa. Generally, phytopathogens hamper the balance of primary defense phytohormones, such as salicylic acid (SA)–jasmonic acid (JA) balance, for disease progression. Thus, we quantified the important phytohormone titers in tissues of susceptible and resistant genotypes belonging to European and Japanese plums at five different time points. Our previous results suggested that auxin-cytokinins interplay driven by A. morbosa appeared to be vital in disease progression by hampering the plant defense system. Here, we further show that such hampering of disease progression is likely mediated by perturbance in SA, JA, and, to some extent, gibberellic acid. The results further indicate that SA and JA in plant defense are not always necessarily antagonistic as most of the studies suggest but can be different, especially in woody perennials. Together, our results suggest that the changes in phytohormone levels, especially in terms of SA and JA content due to BK infection and progression in plums, could be used as phytohormonal markers in the identification of BK-resistant cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Disease Resistance in Horticultural Crops)
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