Development of a toolbox to study - lettuce interactions: Characterization and detection of in hydroponic lettuce.

Climate change poses a major threat to crop production, resulting in the emergence of new pests and diseases. has recently emerged as a major concern in hydroponic lettuce cultivation, causing substantial yield and economic losses. This oomycete pathogen thrives in elevated water temperatures induced by warmer weather conditions (e.

Exploring Synergistic Effects of Levan and Levan-Metabolizing Bacillaceae in Promoting Growth and Enhancing Immunity of Tomato and Wheat.

Boosting plant immunity by priming agents can lower agrochemical dependency in plant production. Levan and levan-derived oligosaccharides (LOS) act as priming agents against biotic stress in several crops. Additionally, beneficial microbes can promote plant growth and protect against fungal diseases.

Phenotyping, genetics, and "-omics" approaches to unravel and introgress enhanced resistance against apple scab () in apple cultivars ( × ).

Apple scab disease, caused by the fungus , endangers commercial apple production globally. It is predominantly managed by frequent fungicide sprays that can harm the environment and promote the development of fungicide-resistant strains. Cultivation of scab-resistant cultivars harboring diverse qualitative resistance loci and quantitative trait loci associated with scab resistance could reduce the chemical footprint.

Unveiling the microbiome of hydroponically cultivated lettuce: impact of Phytophthora cryptogea infection on plant-associated microorganisms.

Understanding the complex interactions between plants and their associated microorganisms is crucial for optimizing plant health and productivity. While microbiomes of soil-bound cultivated crops are extensively studied, microbiomes of hydroponically cultivated crops have received limited attention. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the rhizosphere and root endosphere of hydroponically cultivated lettuce.

The biocontrol agent AMBP214 is dispersible to plants via bumblebees.

Plant protection products are essential for ensuring food production, but their use poses a threat to human and environmental health, and their efficacy is decreasing due to the acquisition of resistance by pathogens. Stricter regulations and consumer demand for cleaner produce are driving the search for safer and more sustainable alternatives. Microbial biocontrol agents, such as microorganisms with antifungal activity, have emerged as a promising alternative management strategy, but their commercial use has been limited by poor establishment and spread on crops.

Increasing the Robustness of SIFT-MS Volatilome Fingerprinting by Introducing Notional Analyte Concentrations.

Selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is an analytical technique for volatile detection and quantification. SIFT-MS can be applied in a "white box" approach, measuring concentrations of target compounds, or as a "black box" fingerprinting technique, scanning all product ions during a full scan. Combining SIFT-MS full scan data acquired from multibatches or large-scale experiments remains problematic due to signal fluctuation over time.

Early detection of Botrytis cinerea in strawberry fruit during quiescent infection using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS).

Botrytis cinerea is a devastating pathogen that can cause huge postharvest losses of strawberry. Although this fungus usually infects strawberries through their flowers, symptoms mainly appear when fruit are fully mature. A fast and sensitive method to detect and quantify the fungal infection, prior to symptom development, is, therefore, needed.

lipopeptide-mediated biocontrol of peanut stem rot caused by .

Introduction: Peanut ( L.) is a widespread oilseed crop of high agricultural importance in tropical and subtropical areas. It plays a major role in the food supply in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Rhizogenic protein RolB interacts with the TOPLESS repressor proteins to reprogram plant immunity and development.

Rhizogenic strains comprise biotrophic pathogens that cause hairy root disease (HRD) on hydroponically grown and crops, besides being widely explored agents for the creation of hairy root cultures for the sustainable production of plant-specialized metabolites. Hairy root formation is mediated through the expression of genes encoded on the T-DNA of the root-inducing (Ri) plasmid, of which several, including (), play a major role in hairy root development. Despite decades of research, the exact molecular function of the proteins encoded by the genes remains enigmatic.

Constitutive Defense Mechanisms Have a Major Role in the Resistance of Woodland Strawberry Leaves Against .

The necrotrophic fungus is a major threat to strawberry cultivation worldwide. By screening different genotypes for susceptibility to , we identified two genotypes with different resistance levels, a susceptible genotype ssp. Tenno 3 (T3) and a moderately resistant genotype ssp.

Time Is of the Essence-Early Activation of the Mevalonate Pathway in Apple Challenged With Gray Mold Correlates With Reduced Susceptibility During Postharvest Storage.

Apple is typically stored under low temperature and controlled atmospheric conditions to ensure a year round supply of high quality fruit for the consumer. During storage, losses in quality and quantity occur due to spoilage by postharvest pathogens. One important postharvest pathogen of apple is .

Surfactin Stimulated by Pectin Molecular Patterns and Root Exudates Acts as a Key Driver of the -Plant Mutualistic Interaction.

Bacillus velezensis is considered as a model species belonging to the so-called Bacillus subtilis complex that evolved typically to dwell in the soil rhizosphere niche and establish an intimate association with plant roots. This bacterium provides protection to its natural host against diseases and represents one of the most promising biocontrol agents. However, the molecular basis of the cross talk that this bacterium establishes with its natural host has been poorly investigated.

UV-B light and its application potential to reduce disease and pest incidence in crops.

Ultraviolet-B radiation (280-315 nm), perceived by the plant photoreceptor UVR8, is a key environmental signal that influences plant growth and development and can reduce disease and pest incidence. The positive effect of UV-B on disease resistance and incidence in various plant species supports the implementation of supplemental UV-B radiation in sustainable crop production. However, despite many studies focusing on UV-B light, there is no consensus on the best mode of application.

Pathogen Effectors: Exploiting the Promiscuity of Plant Signaling Hubs.

Pathogens produce effectors to overcome plant immunity, thereby threatening crop yields and global food security. Large-scale interactomic studies have revealed that pathogens from different kingdoms of life target common plant proteins during infection, the so-called effector hubs. These hubs often play central roles in numerous plant processes through their ability to interact with multiple plant proteins.

Ultraviolet Radiation From a Plant Perspective: The Plant-Microorganism Context.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation directly affects plants and microorganisms, but also alters the species-specific interactions between them. The distinct bands of UV radiation, UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C have different effects on plants and their associated microorganisms. While UV-A and UV-B mainly affect morphogenesis and phototropism, UV-B and UV-C strongly trigger secondary metabolite production.

Hub Protein Controversy: Taking a Closer Look at Plant Stress Response Hubs.

Plant stress responses involve numerous changes at the molecular and cellular level and are regulated by highly complex signaling pathways. Studying protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and the resulting networks is therefore becoming increasingly important in understanding these responses. Crucial in PPI networks are the so-called hubs or hub proteins, commonly defined as the most highly connected central proteins in scale-free PPI networks.

Fungal Glucosylceramide-Specific Camelid Single Domain Antibodies Are Characterized by Broad Spectrum Antifungal Activity.

Chemical crop protection is widely used to control plant diseases. However, the adverse effects of pesticide use on human health and environment, resistance development and the impact of regulatory requirements on the crop protection market urges the agrochemical industry to explore innovative and alternative approaches. In that context, we demonstrate here the potential of camelid single domain antibodies (VHHs) generated against fungal glucosylceramides (fGlcCer), important pathogenicity factors.

ARA-PEPs: a repository of putative sORF-encoded peptides in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Many eukaryotic RNAs have been considered non-coding as they only contain short open reading frames (sORFs). However, there is increasing evidence for the translation of these sORFs into bioactive peptides with potent signaling, antimicrobial, developmental, antioxidant roles etc. Yet only a few peptides encoded by sORFs are annotated in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana.

The antifungal plant defensin AtPDF2.3 from Arabidopsis thaliana blocks potassium channels.

Scorpion toxins that block potassium channels and antimicrobial plant defensins share a common structural CSαβ-motif. These toxins contain a toxin signature (K-C4-X-N) in their amino acid sequence, and based on in silico analysis of 18 plant defensin sequences, we noted the presence of a toxin signature (K-C5-R-G) in the amino acid sequence of the Arabidopsis thaliana defensin AtPDF2.3.

Glutaredoxin GRXS17 Associates with the Cytosolic Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly Pathway.

Cytosolic monothiol glutaredoxins (GRXs) are required in iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster delivery and iron sensing in yeast and mammals. In plants, it is unclear whether they have similar functions. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) has a sole class II cytosolic monothiol GRX encoded by GRXS17 Here, we used tandem affinity purification to establish that Arabidopsis GRXS17 associates with most known cytosolic Fe-S assembly (CIA) components.

Identification of survival-promoting OSIP108 peptide variants and their internalization in human cells.

The plant-derived decapeptide OSIP108 increases tolerance of yeast and human cells to apoptosis-inducing agents, such as copper and cisplatin. We performed a whole amino acid scan of OSIP108 and conducted structure-activity relationship studies on the induction of cisplatin tolerance (CT) in yeast. The use of cisplatin as apoptosis-inducing trigger in this study should be considered as a tool to better understand the survival-promoting nature of OSIP108 and not for purposes related to anti-cancer treatment.

The SnRK1 Energy Sensor in Plant Biotic Interactions.

Our understanding of plant biotic interactions has grown significantly in recent years with the identification of the mechanisms involved in innate immunity, hormone signaling, and secondary metabolism. The impact of such interactions on primary metabolism and the role of metabolic signals in the response of the plants, however, remain far less explored. The SnRK1 (SNF1-related kinase 1) kinases act as metabolic sensors, integrating very diverse stress conditions, and are key in maintaining energy homeostasis for growth and survival.

The radish defensins RsAFP1 and RsAFP2 act synergistically with caspofungin against Candida albicans biofilms.

The radish defensin RsAFP2 was previously characterized as a peptide with potent antifungal activity against several plant pathogenic fungi and human pathogens, including Candida albicans. RsAFP2 induces apoptosis and impairs the yeast-to-hypha transition in C. albicans.