Functional'omics of the ratoon stunting disease of sugarcane

• Grant number: 08/56260-2
• Support type: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Thematic Grants
• Duration: June 01, 2009 - June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Cooperation agreement: CNPq - Pronex
• Principal researcher: Luis Eduardo Aranha Camargo
• Grantee: Luis Eduardo Aranha Camargo
• Home Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The ratoon stunting disease (RSD) of sugarcane is caused by the fastidious xylem-limited gram-positive bacterium Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx). RSD is one of the most important diseases of sugarcane worldwide. Although control of the bacterium relies primarily on using healthy heat-treated stalks as planting material, this approach is not 100% effective and, given the perennial nature of sugarcane plants and the prevalent mechanical mode of transmission of the bacterium, the disease can reach epidemic levels during successive ratoon crops starting from a small amount of infected planting material. In Brazil, losses in biomass of sugarcane due to RSD are estimated to be around 3.3 million tons/yr or R$ 107 million/ yr given the price of R$ 32/ton practiced in 2009. The objectives of our study are a) to establish a time course of colonization of sugarcane by Lxx using the quantitative real time (q)PCR approach in order to identify time points that encompass the onset of the plant reaction to infection; b) to identify sugarcane genes and proteins differentially expressed in a resistant and a susceptible cultivar infected or not with Lxx based on microarray technology at the time points previously defined; c) to characterize the biological effects on sugarcane plantlets of a presumed toxin-like compound secreted by Lxx and study its effects on gene expression in plants cultivated in vitro. In addition, genes thought to be involved in the production of this toxin will be characterized by heterologous expression, purification and analysis by mass-spectrometry. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CIA, MARIANA CICARELLI; DE CARVALHO, GISELLE; AZEVEDO, RICARDO ANTUNES; MONTEIRO-VITORELLO, CLAUDIA BARROS; SOUZA, GLAUCIA MENDES; NISHIYAMA-JUNIOR, MILTON YUTAKA; LEMBKE, CAROLINA GIMILIANI; DA CUNHA ANTUNES DE FARIA, RAPHAEL SEVERO; RODRIGUES MARQUES, JOAO PAULO; MELOTTO, MAELI; ARANHA CAMARGO, LUIS EDUARDO. Novel Insights Into the Early Stages of Ratoon Stunting Disease of Sugarcane Inferred from Transcript and Protein Analysis. PHYTOPATHOLOGY, v. 108, n. 12, p. 1455-1466, DEC 2018. Web of Science Citations: 4.

CARVALHO, G.; DA SILVA, T. G. E. R.; MUNHOZ, A. T.; MONTEIRO-VITORELLO, C. B.; AZEVEDO, R. A.; MELOTTO, M.; CAMARGO, L. E. A. Development of a qPCR for Leifsonia xyli subsp xyli and quantification of the effects of heat treatment of sugarcane cuttings on Lxx. CROP PROTECTION, v. 80, p. 51-55, FEB 2016. Web of Science Citations: 5.

QUECINE, M. C.; SILVA, T. M.; CARVALHO, G.; SAITO, S.; MONDIN, M.; TEIXEIRA-SILVA, N. S.; CAMARGO, L. E. A.; MONTEIRO-VITORELLO, C. B. A stable Leifsonia xyli subsp xyli GFP-tagged strain reveals a new colonization niche in sugarcane tissues. PLANT PATHOLOGY, v. 65, n. 1, p. 154-162, JAN 2016. Web of Science Citations: 4.