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Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure.

ABSTRACT: Africa is among the continents where the battle over genetically modified crops is currently being played out. The impact of GM in Africa could potentially be very positive. In Uganda, researchers have developed transgenic banana lines resistant to banana Xanthomonas wilt. The transgenic lines expressing hrap and pflp can provide a timely solution to the pandemic. However, the impact of the transgenes expression on non-target microorganisms has not yet been investigated. To study this effect, transgenic and control lines were grown under field conditions and their associated microbiome was investigated by 16S rRNA gene profiling combining amplicon sequencing and molecular fingerprinting. Three years after sucker planting, no statistically significant differences between transgenic lines and their non-modified predecessors were detected for their associated bacterial communities. The overall gammaproteobacterial rhizosphere microbiome was highly dominated by Xanthomonadales, while Pseudomonadales and Enterobacteriales were accumulated in the pseudostem. Shannon indices revealed much higher diversity in the rhizosphere than in the pseudostem endosphere. However, the expression of the transgenes did not result in changes in the diversity of Gammaproteobacteria, the closest relatives of the target pathogen. In this field experiment, the expression of the resistance genes appears to have no consequences for non-target rhizobacteria and endophytes.

SUBMITTER: Nimusiima J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4674801 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure.

Nimusiima Jean J Köberl Martina M Tumuhairwe John Baptist JB Kubiriba Jerome J Staver Charles C Berg Gabriele G

Scientific reports 20151210

Africa is among the continents where the battle over genetically modified crops is currently being played out. The impact of GM in Africa could potentially be very positive. In Uganda, researchers have developed transgenic banana lines resistant to banana Xanthomonas wilt. The transgenic lines expressing hrap and pflp can provide a timely solution to the pandemic. However, the impact of the transgenes expression on non-target microorganisms has not yet been investigated. To study this effect, tr ...[more]

PMID: 26657016

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Project description:Banana production landscapes in the African Great Lakes Region (AGLR) have been under immense pressure from Xanthomonas wilt (XW) disease over the past two decades. XW, first reported on banana in central Uganda and eastern DR Congo in 2001, has since spread to the entire AGLR. XW is currently spreading westwards from hot spots in eastern DR Congo highlands, putting the plantain (Musa AAB genome) belt of central and west Africa at risk. In-depth understanding of the key variables responsible for disease spread, current hotspots, and vulnerable landscapes is crucial for disease early warning and management. We mapped aggregated disease distribution and hotspots in the AGLR and identified vulnerable landscapes across African banana production zones. Available data on disease prevalence collected over 11 years was regressed against environmental and expert developed covariates to develop the AGLR XW hotspots map. For the Africa-wide risk map, precipitation, distance to hotspots, degree of trade in fresh banana products, production zone interconnectedness and banana genotype composition were used as covariates. In the AGLR, XW was mainly correlated to precipitation and disease/banana management. Altitude and temperature had unexpectedly low effects, possibly due to an overriding impact of tool-mediated spread which is part of the management covariate. In the AGLR, the eastern part of DR Congo was a large hotspot with highest vulnerability. Apart from endemic zones in the AGLR and Ethiopia, northern Mozambique was perceived as a moderate risk zone mainly due to the predominance of 'Bluggoe' (Musa ABB type) which is highly susceptible to insect-vectored transmission. Presence of XW hotspots (e.g. eastern DR Congo) and vulnerable areas with low (e.g. north-western Tanzania) or no disease (e.g. Congo basin, western DR Congo and northern Mozambique) pressure suggest key areas where proactive measures e.g. quarantines and information sharing on XW diagnosis, epidemiology, and control could be beneficial.

Project description:BackgroundPlant microbiome highlights the importance of endosphere microbiome for growth and health of the host plant. Microbial community analysis represents an elegant way to identify keystone microbial species that have a more central position in the community. The aim of this study was to access the interactions between the keystone bacterial species and plants during banana Fusarium wilt process, by comparing the endophytic bacterial and fungal community in banana roots and shoot tips during growth and wilting processes. The keystone bacterial species were isolated and further engineered to improve banana wilt resistance.ResultsBanana endosphere microbiome structure varied during plant growth and wilting processes. Bacterial and fungal diversity in the shoot tips and roots increased with the development of the banana plantlets. The bacterial groups belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family with different relative abundances were detected in all the samples. The Klebsiella spp. might be the keystone bacteria during the growth of banana plantlets. The relative abundance of Fusarium associated with the wilt disease did not increase during the wilting process. The endophytic Enterobacteriaceae strains Enterobacter sp. E5, Kosakonia sp. S1, and Klebsiella sp. Kb were isolated on Enterobacteriaceae selective medium and further engineered by expressing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase on the bacterial cell walls (designated as E5P, S1P, and KbP, respectively). Pot experiments suggested that plants inoculated with strains E5, E5P, S1, and S1P increased resistance to the Fusarium wilt disease compared with the controls without inoculation, whereas the Klebsiella inoculation (Kb and KbP) did not increase the wilt resistance. Compared with the inoculation with the wild strains E5 and S1, the inoculation with engineered strains E5P and S1P significantly increased wilt resistance and promoted plant growth, respectively. The results illustrated that the keystone species in the banana microbiome may not be dominant in numbers and the functional role of keystone species should be involved in the wilt resistance.ConclusionThe ACC deaminase activity of engineered bacteria was essential to the Fusarium wilt resistance and growth promotion of banana plants. Engineering keystone bacteria in plant microbiome with ACC deaminase on the cell walls should be a promising method to improve plant growth and disease resistance.

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Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure.

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Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure.

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