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Expression of radish defensin (RsAFP2) gene in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) confers resistance to Fusarium wilt disease

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Abstract

Background:

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), a major nutritional source cultivated worldwide, is vulnerable to several abiotic and biotic stresses, including different types of soil-borne pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri, which causes root rot disease and severely affects productivity.

Methods and results

In this study, putative transgenic plants were obtained with the Radish defensin (Rs-AFP2) gene through Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation using the embryo axis explants. Transgenes were confirmed in 18 putative transgenic plants with PCR-specific primers for nptII and Rs-AFP2 genes. Twelve transgenic plants were established successfully under greenhouse conditions. The T0 plants were allowed for self-pollination to obtain T1 seeds. The T1 plants, selected for Fusarium wilt assay using Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cicero, showed different resistance levels, from moderate to high levels in comparison to control plants (wild-type) which exhibited severe wilt symptoms.

Conclusion

Our results suggest the application of Radish defensins (RsAFP1/RsAFP2 genes) for improving pathogen resistance in chickpea.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Government of India for financial assistance in the form of a project (DAE-BRNS No.2013/35/36/BRNS/1254, Dt: 30.07.2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Kakatiya University, Vidyaranyapuri, Warangal, Telangana, 506 009, India

    SumanKalyan Sadhu, Kranthikumar Gande, Vasudha Marapaka & Venkataiah Peddaboina

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Kakatiya University, Vidyaranyapuri, Warangal, Telangana, 506 009, India

    Phanikanth Jogam

  3. Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400085, India

    Suprasanna Penna

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  1. SumanKalyan Sadhu
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Contributions

SKS, PJ, KKG, and VM performed all experiments. SP and VP participated in designing the experiments and writing the manuscript. SP and VP reviewed the final manuscript. VP designed and supervised the entire work. All the authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Venkataiah Peddaboina.

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Sadhu, S., Jogam, P., Gande, K. et al. Expression of radish defensin (RsAFP2) gene in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) confers resistance to Fusarium wilt disease. Mol Biol Rep 50, 11–18 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-08021-9

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