Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology

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The Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology is part of the College of Agriculture at Montana State University in Bozeman. An exciting feature of this department is the diversity of programs in Plant Biology, Crop Science, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Mycology, Plant Genetics and Entomology. The department offers BS, MS, and Ph.D. degree program

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    Proanthocyanidins: Key for Resistance to Globisporangium (Formerly Pythium) Seed Rot of Pea
    (American Society for Horticultural Science, 2024-01) Ewing, Elmer E.; Weeden, Norman F.; Simko, Ivan
    Pea (Pisum sativum) dominant for the fundamental color gene A showed a high level of resistance to Globisporangium ultimum (formerly Pythium ultimum) seed rot. Reciprocal crosses demonstrated that, with our materials, such resistance was associated with the testa (seedcoat) phenotype but not the embryo phenotype. Dominance of A over a was complete for this trait. Neither wrinkled seed form (r) nor green cotyledons (i) diminished resistance when A was dominant, although both recessive alleles diminished resistance when seeds were borne on white-flowering (a) plants. The product of the A gene functions in the pathway leading to flavonoids, including proanthocyanidins (PAs) and anthocyanidins. We found that resistance to G. ultimum seed rot was closely associated with not only dominant A but also testa PAs and testa sclerenchyma. Even A testas that lacked anthocyanins but contained PAs and sclerenchyma showed a high level of seed rot resistance. Moreover, a mutation removing PAs and sclerenchyma in a narrow zone from the hilum to the radicle markedly increased susceptibility. The PAs in pea testas were predominantly prodelphinidins in seeds from purple-flowered plants (A B) and procyanidins from pink-flowered plants (A b). Compared with procyanidins, prodelphinidins have higher antioxidant activity but are more likely to sequester iron, a particular concern with dry pea. Although A B testas were more resistant than A b to seed rot, the difference seemed too slight to militate against growing pink-flowered pea. We stressed the need for more histological comparisons of A B and A b testas, and we indicated that genes and their phenotypic effects examined during the current study could be useful for modeling biosynthesis of PAs and related cell walls.
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    Peanut Seed Coat Acts as a Physical and Biochemical Barrier against Aspergillus flavus Infection
    (MDPI AG, 2021-11) Commey, Leslie; Tengey, Theophilus K.; Cobos, Christopher J.; Dampanaboina, Lavanya; Dhillon, Kamalpreet K.; Pandey, Manish K.; Sudini, Hari Kishan; Falalou, Hamidou; Varshney, Rajeev K.; Burow, Mark D.; Mendu, Venugopal
    Aflatoxin contamination is a global menace that adversely affects food crops and human health. Peanut seed coat is the outer layer protecting the cotyledon both at pre- and post-harvest stages from biotic and abiotic stresses. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of seed coat against A. flavus infection. In-vitro seed colonization (IVSC) with and without seed coat showed that the seed coat acts as a physical barrier, and the developmental series of peanut seed coat showed the formation of a robust multilayered protective seed coat. Radial growth bioassay revealed that both insoluble and soluble seed coat extracts from 55-437 line (resistant) showed higher A. flavus inhibition compared to TMV-2 line (susceptible). Further analysis of seed coat biochemicals showed that hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives are the predominant phenolic compounds, and addition of these compounds to the media inhibited A. flavus growth. Gene expression analysis showed that genes involved in lignin monomer, proanthocyanidin, and flavonoid biosynthesis are highly abundant in 55-437 compared to TMV-2 seed coats. Overall, the present study showed that the seed coat acts as a physical and biochemical barrier against A. flavus infection and its potential use in mitigating the aflatoxin contamination.
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