Activities of key enzymes in the C4 pathway and anatomy of sugarcane infected by Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli

Transcriptional Regulation of SugarCane Response to Sporisorium scitamineum: Insights from Time-Course Gene Coexpression and Ca2+ Signaling

Sugarcane response to Sporisorium scitamineum is determined by multiple major genes and numerous microeffector genes. Here, time-ordered gene coexpression networks were applied to explore the interaction between sugarcane and S. scitamineum. Totally, 2459 differentially expressed genes were identified and divided into 10 levels, and several stress-related subnetworks were established. Interestingly, the Ca2+ signaling pathway was activated to establish the response to sugarcane smut disease. Accordingly, two CAX genes (ScCAX2 and ScCAX3) were cloned and characterized from sugarcane. They were significantly upregulated under ABA stress but inhibited by MeJA treatment. Furthermore, overexpression of ScCAX2 and ScCAX3 enhanced the susceptibility of transgenic plants to the pathogen infection, suggesting its negative role in disease resistance. A regulatory model for ScCAX genes in disease response was thus depicted. This work helps to clarify the transcriptional regulation of sugarcane response to S. scitamineum stress and the function of the CAX gene in disease response.

Influences of plant organ, genotype, and cultivation site on the endophytic bacteriome of maize (Zea mays L.) in the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, Brazil

Endophytic bacteria play a crucial role in plant development and adaptation, and the knowledge of how endophytic bacteria assemblage is influenced by cultivation site and plant genotype is an important step to achieve microbiome manipulation. This work aimed to study the roots and stems of endophytic bacteriome of four maize genotypes cultivated in two regions of the semi-arid region of Pernambuco - Brazil. Our hypothesis is that the endophytic community assemblage will be influenced by plant genotypes and cultivation region. Metabarcoding sequencing data revealed significant differences in alfa diversity in function of both factors, genotypes, and maize organs. Beta diversity analysis showed that the bacterial communities differ mainly in function of the plant organ. The most abundant genera found in the samples were Leifsonia, Bacillus, Klebsiella, Streptomyces, and Bradyrhizobium. To understand ecological interactions within each compartment, we constructed co-occurrence network for each organ. This analysis revealed important differences in network structure and complexity and suggested that Leifsonia (the main genera found) had distinct ecological roles depending on the plant organ. Our data showed that root endophytic maize bacteria would be influenced by cultivation site, but not by genotype. We believe that, collectively, our data not only characterize the bacteriome associated with this plant and how different factors shape it, but also increase the knowledge to select potential bacteria for bioinoculant production.

Stomatal cavity modulates the gas exchange of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. grown under different water levels

This work aimed to evaluate the effects of lower water levels on leaf intercellular spaces and to assess their relations with the gas exchange, anatomy, and growth of Sorghum bicolor. Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse, in which plants were subjected to three water conditions (ten replicates, n = 30): well-irrigated, decreased irrigation, and limited irrigation. Lower water levels had no significant effect on the growth of S. bicolor but increased the biomass of the roots. Moreover, the number of leaves, leaf area, and leaf size as well as the chlorophyll content were not affected by lower water levels, and no significant changes were detected for whole plant photosynthesis, transpiration, or stomatal conductance. The water content of the plants and the water potential remained unchanged. However, compared with other treatments, the decreased irrigation decreased water loss and increased the water retention. Lower water levels increased the intercellular CO₂ percentage, mesophyll area, and proportion of stomatal cavities and promoted minor changes in leaf tissue and stomatal traits. The increased stomatal cavities provided higher CO₂ uptake and prevented excessive water loss. Thus, modifications to the intercellular spaces promoted conditions to avoid excessive water loss while concurrently improving CO₂ uptake, which are important traits for drought-tolerant plants.