RESUMO
The genetic diversity between 23 Moroccan date palm cultivars collected from the National Palm Collection at the INRA (National Agricultural Research Institute) experimental field in Zagora was assessed using SSR markers that are specifically designed for date palm. Among the 16 tested SSR, 13 were successfully amplified, and were selected to carry out this study. 208 bands were amplified, ranging from 10 to 25 bands per cultivar with an average of 16 alleles per cultivar. The value of heterozygosity of the studied markers ranged from 0.11 to 0.30. The pairwise genetic distances between those cultivars ranged from 0.06 to 0.46. The hierarchical cluster analysis distributed the 23 genotypes into four different groups of one to ten cultivars.
RESUMO
With the progressive loss of fungicide efficacy against Phakopsora pachyrhizi, the causal agent of Asian soybean rust (ASR), alternative methods to protect soybean crops are needed. Resistance induction is a low impact alternative and/or supplement to fungicide applications that fortifies innate plant defenses against pathogens. Here, we show that a microbial fermentation product (MFP) induces plant defenses in soybean, and transcriptional induction is enhanced with the introduction of ASR. MFP-treated plants exhibited 1,011 and 1,877 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) 12 and 60 h after treatment, respectively, compared with water controls. MFP plants exposed to the pathogen 48 h after application and sampled 12 h later (for a total of 60 h) had 2,401 DEGs compared with control. The plant defense genes PR1, PR2, IPER, PAL, and CHS were induced with MFP application, and induction was enhanced with ASR. Enriched pathways associated with pathogen defense included plant-pathogen interactions, MAPK signaling pathways, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, glutathione metabolism, flavonoid metabolism, and isoflavonoid metabolism. In field conditions, elevated antioxidant peroxidase activities and phenolic accumulation were measured with MFP treatment; however, improved ASR control or enhanced crop yield were not observed. MFP elicitation differences between field and laboratory grown plants necessitates further testing to identify best practices for effective disease management with MFP-treated soybean.