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Trichoderma harzianum-induced resistance against Fusarium oxysporum involves regulation of nuclear DNA content, cell viability and cell cycle-related genes expression in cucumber roots

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Abstract

Fusarium wilt, one of the destructive diseases of cucumber can be effectively controlled by using biocontrol agents such as Trichoderma harzianum. However, the mechanisms controlling T. harzianum-induced enhanced resistance remain largely unknown in cucumber plants. Here we screened the potent T. harzianum isolate TH58 that could effectively control F. oxysporum (FO). Glasshouse efficacy trials also showed that TH58 decreased disease incidence by 69.7 %. FO induced ROS over accumulation, while TH58 inoculation suppressed ROS over accumulation and improved root cell viability under F. oxysporum infection. TH58 inoculation could reverse the FO-induced cell division block and regulate the proportional distribution of nuclear DNA content through inducing 2C fraction. Moreover, the expression levels of cell cycle-related genes such as CDKA, CDKB, CycA, CycB, CycD3;1 and CycD3;2 in TH58 - pre-inoculated seedlings were up-regulated compared with those infected with FO alone. Taken together, these results suggest that T. harzianum improved plant resistance against Fusarium wilt disease via alterations in nuclear DNA content and cell cycle-related genes expression that might maintain a lower ROS accumulation and higher root cell viability in cucumber seedlings.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31471867, 31560554, 31260478, 31550110201), Flexible Talent Introduction Project of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College of Tibet University (201406) and Outstanding Young Teacher Project in Henan Province (2011GGJS-075, 2012GGJS-078).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Henan University of Science and Technology, No.70, Tianjin Road, Luoyang, 471003, People’s Republic of China

    Shuang-Chen Chen, Hong-Jiao Zhao, Cai-Xia Zheng, Hai-Yang Qin, Ai-Rong Liu & Xiao-Min Lin

  2. Department of Plant Science, Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College, Tibet University, Linzhi, 860000, People’s Republic of China

    Shuang-Chen Chen, Zhong-Hong Wang & Zhi-Hua Guan

  3. College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Pu-Yan Zhao

  4. Department of Horticulture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Golam-Jalal Ahammed

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  1. Shuang-Chen Chen
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  2. Hong-Jiao Zhao
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Chen, SC., Zhao, HJ., Wang, ZH. et al. Trichoderma harzianum-induced resistance against Fusarium oxysporum involves regulation of nuclear DNA content, cell viability and cell cycle-related genes expression in cucumber roots. Eur J Plant Pathol 147, 43–53 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0978-7

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