Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens
Plant defensin (PDF/DEF), an important pathogenesis-related protein which widely exists in plants, displays broad-spectrum antifungal activities. To date, however, reports on the banana PDFs are very limited. In this study, we identified, cloned, and characterized the five Class I <i>PDFs</...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Ruide Li Bin Wang Huan Wu Chunzhen Cheng |
| author_facet | Ruide Li Bin Wang Huan Wu Chunzhen Cheng |
| author_sort | Ruide Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant defensin (PDF/DEF), an important pathogenesis-related protein which widely exists in plants, displays broad-spectrum antifungal activities. To date, however, reports on the banana PDFs are very limited. In this study, we identified, cloned, and characterized the five Class I <i>PDFs</i> (<i>MaPDF2.1~MaPDF2.5</i>) in banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>). Further, their expression in root, corm, leaf, and fruit were studied. <i>MaPDFs</i> exhibited quite different expression patterns in different organs, with <i>MaPDF2.2</i> as the only member expressing in all the tested organs, and its expression levels in all organs were the highest among all <i>MaPDFs</i>. The <i>MaPDF2.2</i> expression could be significantly upregulated by both low- and high-temperature stresses but significantly downregulated by the inoculations of plant growth promoting endophytic fungus <i>Serendipita indica</i> and banana Fusarium wilt (FW) pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>cubense</i> (<i>Foc</i>) Tropical race 4 (<i>Foc</i>TR4). Moreover, the <i>S. indica</i> pre-colonization could significantly alleviate the suppression of <i>Foc</i>TR4 on <i>MaPDF2.2</i>, suggesting that this <i>MaPDF</i> might contribute greatly to the <i>S. indica</i>-enhanced FW resistance. By using tobacco leaf transient overexpression, the function of <i>MaPDF2.2</i> was investigated. Its overexpression significantly inhibited the infection of <i>Foc</i> race 1 (<i>Foc</i>1) and <i>Foc</i>TR4 in tobacco leaves. Furthermore, in vitro antifungal ability assays revealed that the recombinant His-MaPDF2.2 protein could significantly inhibit the growth of <i>Foc</i>1 and <i>Foc</i>TR4, as well as the pigment accumulation of <i>Foc</i>1. Our study revealed the sequence and expression characteristics of banana <i>PDFs</i> and demonstrated the antifungal ability of MaPDF2.2 to FW pathogens. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-97e727780d8b415489c3dfbbc2352bbb |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-97e727780d8b415489c3dfbbc2352bbb2025-08-20T03:14:46ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-05-0111551310.3390/horticulturae11050513Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt PathogensRuide Li0Bin Wang1Huan Wu2Chunzhen Cheng3College of Horticulture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaPlant defensin (PDF/DEF), an important pathogenesis-related protein which widely exists in plants, displays broad-spectrum antifungal activities. To date, however, reports on the banana PDFs are very limited. In this study, we identified, cloned, and characterized the five Class I <i>PDFs</i> (<i>MaPDF2.1~MaPDF2.5</i>) in banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>). Further, their expression in root, corm, leaf, and fruit were studied. <i>MaPDFs</i> exhibited quite different expression patterns in different organs, with <i>MaPDF2.2</i> as the only member expressing in all the tested organs, and its expression levels in all organs were the highest among all <i>MaPDFs</i>. The <i>MaPDF2.2</i> expression could be significantly upregulated by both low- and high-temperature stresses but significantly downregulated by the inoculations of plant growth promoting endophytic fungus <i>Serendipita indica</i> and banana Fusarium wilt (FW) pathogen <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> f. sp. <i>cubense</i> (<i>Foc</i>) Tropical race 4 (<i>Foc</i>TR4). Moreover, the <i>S. indica</i> pre-colonization could significantly alleviate the suppression of <i>Foc</i>TR4 on <i>MaPDF2.2</i>, suggesting that this <i>MaPDF</i> might contribute greatly to the <i>S. indica</i>-enhanced FW resistance. By using tobacco leaf transient overexpression, the function of <i>MaPDF2.2</i> was investigated. Its overexpression significantly inhibited the infection of <i>Foc</i> race 1 (<i>Foc</i>1) and <i>Foc</i>TR4 in tobacco leaves. Furthermore, in vitro antifungal ability assays revealed that the recombinant His-MaPDF2.2 protein could significantly inhibit the growth of <i>Foc</i>1 and <i>Foc</i>TR4, as well as the pigment accumulation of <i>Foc</i>1. Our study revealed the sequence and expression characteristics of banana <i>PDFs</i> and demonstrated the antifungal ability of MaPDF2.2 to FW pathogens.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/5/513plant defensinbanana Fusarium wiltgene expression analysisprokaryotic expressionantifungal ability |
| spellingShingle | Ruide Li Bin Wang Huan Wu Chunzhen Cheng Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens Horticulturae plant defensin banana Fusarium wilt gene expression analysis prokaryotic expression antifungal ability |
| title | Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens |
| title_full | Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens |
| title_short | Characterization of Plant Defensin (<i>PDF</i>) Genes in Banana (<i>Musa acuminata</i>) Reveals the Antifungal Ability of MaPDF2.2 to Fusarium Wilt Pathogens |
| title_sort | characterization of plant defensin i pdf i genes in banana i musa acuminata i reveals the antifungal ability of mapdf2 2 to fusarium wilt pathogens |
| topic | plant defensin banana Fusarium wilt gene expression analysis prokaryotic expression antifungal ability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/5/513 |
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