Amorphophallus konjac anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum siamense in China.

AIMS: Amorphophallus konjac is an important commercial crop grown in China because it is the only plant species which is rich in glucomannan concentration. Recently, an outbreak of anthracnose (incidence ranging from 10-15%) was observed in a field survey conducted from June to August 2018. This study aims to identify the causal agent of A. konjac anthracnose. METHODS AND RESULTS: The pathogen was isolated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The fungal colony on PDA was greyish to dark grey. Conidia were falcate, one-celled and hyaline. Based on the micro-morphological and cultural characteristics, the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum sp. blast search and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, GAPDH, CHS1, ACT, CAL and TUB2 genes revealed the pathogen as Colletotrichum siamense. Koch's postulates were conducted on 2-month konjac leaves with conidial suspension. Development of typical anthracnose disease was recorded 5 days after inoculation and the pathogen's identity was confirmed by re-isolation and molecular identification. CONCLUSIONS: Amorphophallus konjac anthracnose was caused by C. siamense in China. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Identification of causal agent of A. konjac anthracnose will be helpful in designing effective disease control strategies.

Endophyte Bacillus subtilis evade plant defense by producing lantibiotic subtilomycin to mask self-produced flagellin.

Microbes can enter into healthy plants as endophytes and confer beneficial functions. The entry of commensal microbes into plants involves penetrating plant defense. Most mechanisms about overcoming plant defense are focused on adapted pathogens, while the mechanism involved in beneficial endophyte evades plant defense to achieve harmonious commensalism is unclear. Here, we discover a mechanism that an endophyte bacterium Bacillus subtilis BSn5 reduce to stimulate the plant defensive response by producing lantibiotic subtilomycin to bind self-produced flagellin. Subtilomycin bind with flagellin and affect flg22-induced plant defense, by which means promotes the endophytic colonization in A. thaliana. Subtilomycin also promotes the BSn5 colonization in a distinct plant, Amorphophallus konjac, where the BSn5 was isolated. Our investigation shows more independent subtilomycin/-like producers are isolated from distinct plants. Our work unveils a common strategy that is used for bacterial endophytic colonization.

A Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for Rapid Detection of Pectobacterium aroidearum that Causes Soft Rot in Konjac.

Bacterial soft rot caused by Pectobacterium species is a serious disease in konjac (Amorphophallus konjac), a healthy source of starch particularly in East Asia. An effective diagnostic method is crucial to control the disease and reduce losses in konjac production. In this study, we evaluated a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay with a specific primer set for the rapid and accurate detection of P. aroidearum. A comparative genomics approach was used to identify the specific genes suitable for the design of LAMP primers. The candidate target genes were determined through a first-round comparison with a 50-genome nucleotide database, and subjected to a second-round screening with the GenBank NR database. As a result, nine specific genes of P. aroidearum were selected for LAMP primer design. After screening of the primers, the primer set 1675-1 was chosen for LAMP detection owing to its high specificity and sensitivity. The LAMP assay could detect the presence of P. aroidearum genomic DNA at a concentration as low as 50 fg and 1.2 × 104 CFU/g artificially infected soil within 40 min at 65 °C. Subsequently, this primer set was successfully used to specifically detect P. aroidearum in naturally infected and non-symptomatic plant samples or soil samples from the field. This study indicates that a comparative genomic approach may facilitate the development of highly specific primers for LAMP assays, and a LAMP diagnostic assay with the specific primer set 1675-1 should contribute to the rapid and accurate detection of soft-rot disease in konjac at an early stage.

Analysis of bacterial communities in rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped healthy and diseased konjac.

The bacterial community and diversity in healthy and diseased konjac rhizosphere soils with different ages of continuous cropping were investigated using next-generation sequencing. The results demonstrated that the number of years of continuous cropping significantly altered soil bacterial community and diversity. Soil bacterial Shannon diversity index and Chao 1 index decreased with the increasing cropping years of konjac. After 1 year of cropping, the soil exhibited the highest bacterial relative abundance and diversity. Of the 44 bacterial genera (relative abundance ratio of genera greater than 0.3%), 14 were significantly affected by the duration of continuous cropping and plant status. With increasing continuous cropping, Alicyclobacillus decreased, while Achromobacter, Lactobacillus, Kaistobacter, Rhodoplanes increased after 3 years continuous cropping. Continuous cropping altered the structure and composition of the soil bacterial community, which led to the reduction in the beneficial bacteria and multiplication of harmful bacteria. These results will improve our understanding of soil microbial community regulation and soil health maintenance in konjac farm systems.

Nucleic acid spot hybridization based species-specific detection of Sclerotium rolfsii associated with collar rot disease of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius.

Collar rot is one of the most destructive and prevalent disease of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, resulting in heavy yield losses. The causative organism, Sclerotium rolfsii is a soil-borne polyphagous fungus characterized by prolific growth and ability to produce persistent sclerotia. The pathogen propagules surviving in soil and planting material are the major sources of inoculum. This study presents the suitability of DNA hybridization technique for species specific detection of S. rolfsii in soil and planting material. The detection limit of the probe was 10-15 pg of pure pathogen DNA. The developed probe was found to be highly specific and could be used for accurate identification of pathogen up to the species level. The protocol was standardized for detection of the pathogen in naturally infected field samples.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Sclerotium rolfsii associated with collar rot disease of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius by species-specific polymerase chain reaction assay.

Collar rot disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii is an economically important disease prevailing in all Amorphophallus growing areas. The pathogen propagules surviving in soil and planting material are the major sources of inoculum. A nested PCR assay has been developed for specific detection of S. rolfsii in soil and planting material. The PCR detection limit was 10 pg in conventional assay whereas 0.1 pg in nested assay. The primers designed were found to be highly specific and could be used for accurate identification of pathogen up to species level. The protocol was standardized for detection of the pathogen in artificially and naturally infected field samples.

Comparison of konjac glucomannan digestibility and fermentability with other dietary fibers in vitro.

Konjac glucomannan (KGM) is a dietary fiber found in Amophophallus konjac. This fiber is fermentable based on human and animal trials, but short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production profiles are unknown. The aim of this study is to characterize the digestibility and fermentability in vitro of two preparations of KGM, to better understand how KGM improves human health. Konnyaku (yam cake made of A. konjac), isolated KGM, inulin, and guar gum were subjected to in vitro digestion and in vitro fermentation. Fermentation samples were removed at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours for gas volume, pH, and SCFA measurements. Acetate, propionate, and butyrate were measured with gas chromatography. Results of the in vitro digestion confirm that KGM and konnyaku are resistant to degradation by digestive enzymes. Gas production in fermentation vessels containing konnyaku and KGM was lower than for inulin from 8 to 24 hours. Both samples produced SCFA concentrations similar to guar gum, which favored acetate and propionate over butyrate production. This study is the first to characterize SCFA production by KGM in its isolated form and in food form. Fermentation patterns presented in this study may provide a mechanism for the previously published health benefit of konnyaku and KGM.

Complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis BSn5, an endophytic bacterium of Amorphophallus konjac with antimicrobial activity for the plant pathogen Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora.

Here, we present the complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis strain BSn5, isolated from Amorphophallus konjac calli tissue and showing strong inhibitory activity to Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, which causes Amorphophallus soft rot disease and affects the industry development of this organism.

Lead and other elemental content of normal and Erwinia carotovora infected Amorphallus konjac corms.

Amorphallus konjac corms are important agriculture products in Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The Erwinia carotovora infected Amorphallus konjac corms are processed to food as normal corms. The contents of elements and L: -Proline in the normal and infected Amorphallus konjac corms are analyzed for food safety. Even growing in the almost same soil condition, the contents of Pb, Cd, Mn and L: -Proline in infected corms are significantly higher than those of normal corms (show data as suggestion by peers). Our study suggested that the infected corms are not suitable for food purpose.

Transgenic Amorphophallus konjac expressing synthesized acyl-homoserine lactonase (aiiA) gene exhibit enhanced resistance to soft rot disease.

Amorphophallus konjac is an important economic crop widely used in health products and biomaterials. However, this monocotyledonous plant's production is seriously restricted by soft rot disease. Some Bacillus thuringiensis strains generate an endocellular acyl homoserine lactonase (AiiA), which has inhibitory effect on soft rot pathogen through disrupting the signal molecules (N-acylhomoserine lactones, AHL) of their Quorum Sensing system. The aim of our study is to obtain transgenic A. konjac expressing AiiA protein and exhibiting resistance to soft rot. But till now, there is not any report about exogenous gene transformation in A. konjac. In this research, an Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system was constructed. An aiiA gene was synthesized according to the codon usage in A. konjac. Embryogenic callus was infected with the A. tumefaciens strain EHA105 harboring the plant transformation plasmid pU1301 plus synthesized aiiA gene. After antibiotics screening, 34 plants were obtained. PCR analysis showed that positive amplified fragments were present in 21 out of these 34 lines. Southern blot analysis indicated that aiiA gene had integrated into the genome of A. konjac. Western blotting demonstrated that the target protein of interest was reactive with the antibody against AiiA. Further disease resistance detection revealed that all of the tested transgenic A. konjac lines exhibited high resistance to soft rot bacteria Erwinia carotovora subsp. Carotovora (Ecc) SCG1. The protocol is useful for the quality improvement of A. konjac through genetic transformation.

[Identification and characterization of novel antimicrobial protein APn5 against Erwinia carotovora].

OBJECTIVE: Amorphophallus soft rot disease, caused by Erwinia carotovora, affects Amorphophallus industry development. We identified and characterized protein APn5 against Erwinia carotovora, isolated from Bacillus subtilis strain BSn5. METHODS: Protein APn5 was purified from BSn5 culture by ammonium sulfate precipitation with 30% relative saturation and ultrafiltration. Inhibition activity was tested by agar well diffusion assay. Protein APn5 was treated at different temperatures, pH conditions and proteinase. The growth curve of BSn5 was examined; meanwhile, the inhibition activity of supernatant of BSn5 culture in different growth phase was tested. Amino acid sequence of protein APn5 was analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF). RESULTS: Protein APn5 showed a narrow inhibition spectrum, mainly strongly inhibiting the growth of a few plant pathogenic bacteria. Protein APn5 was sensitive to high temperature and alkaline pH, and partial sensitive to trypsin, proteinase K and pronase E. During strain BSn5 growth phase, the inhibition activity was unstable, which would gradually lose on stationary phase and disappeared finally. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the difference on inhibition spectrum and characteristics, protein APn5 was suggested as a novel antimicrobial protein.

[Isolation of endophytic antagonistic bacterium from Amorphophallus konjac and research on its antibacterial metabolite].

An endophytic antagonistic bacterium was isolated from Amorphophallus konjac calli. In order to identify this bacterium, 16S rDNA was amplified and partially sequenced. Sequence comparison showed that this sequence has the highest similarity to that in Bacillus subtilis, with 99.0% identities. That demonstrated this bacterium belongs to Bacillus subtili , named BSn5. The extracted extracellular protein from strain BSn5 had antibacterial activity against Erwinia carotovora subp. carotovora, which was unstable after heated, sensitive to proteinase K and resistant to trypsin. There was only a 31.6kDa protein component as by SDS-PAGE detection. Nondenaturing polyacrylaminde gel was used to purify this protein. The purified 31.6kDa protein exhibited inhibitory activity against Erwinia carotovora subp. carotovora. This protein is different from all known metabolites from Bacillus subtilis, suggesting that it may be a novel antibacterial protein.