Biology subjects

Ballini, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Ballini, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Root phenolics as potential drivers of preformed defenses and reduced disease susceptibility in a paradigm bread wheat mixture

Plant-plant interactions modulate foliar disease susceptibility in intraspecific mixtures. However, the molecular events including signals and responses underlying the reduction in disease susceptibility remain largely unexplored. Here, we developed an experimental system that can abolish root-mediated interactions between plants in a model of bread wheat varietal mixture. We then performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to uncover the molecular responses linked to decreased susceptibility to Septoria tritici blotch in plant-plant interactions. Our analysis revealed that disrupting root chemical interactions impaired the reduction in susceptibility to Septoria and identified phenolic compounds as potential key mediators. The plant-plant interactions under study triggered significant molecular changes in specialized metabolism, biotic interactions, transporters, and responses to resources. Disrupting root interactions canceled both the macroscopic and molecular responses, thus providing a strong link between them. These insights provide a deeper understanding of the molecular basis of plant-plant interactions and the processes involved in reducing disease susceptibility in intraspecific mixtures. Significance statementNeighboring plants mediate resistance to leaf fungal pathogens by releasing root-derived molecules. These interactions trigger multi-omic reprogramming of defenses in both leaves and roots. Enhanced resistance in varietal mixtures is associated with the early activation of defense pathways. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=186 SRC="FIGDIR/small/699261v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (27K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16f02a9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@117b872org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4e5243org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fac682_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOGraphical abstractC_FLOATNO C_FIG

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Plant-plant interactions in wheat mixtures modulate mean and variance of susceptibility to Septoria tritici blotch

Varietal mixtures are a promising agro-ecological approach to stabilizing yields by reducing diseases. The effects of mixtures stem from modifications of epidemiological processes and plant-plant interactions, which could explain some of the paradoxical observations made in the field. However, the role of plant-plant interactions in modifying bread wheat and durum wheat susceptibility to septoria tritici blotch remains to be elucidated. Our study aimed to determine the effect of such plant-plant interactions, by producing full matrices of binary mixtures in the absence of epidemics, on septoria symptoms--specifically necroses (lesions) and pycnidia (spore-containing structures). We employed statistical modeling to compare the mean and variance of focal plants phenotype in all mixtures versus pure conditions and in each mixture versus pure condition. Our findings demonstrate significant effects of plant-plant interactions on wheat susceptibility to septoria. Notably, these interactions had specific rather than general effects, with some but not all genotypic combinations significantly influencing focal susceptibility to septoria. Furthermore, mixtures resulted in reduced necrosis with lower variance, but increased pycnidia formation. These results reinforce the need to consider specific plant-plant interactions for their contribution to trait means and variances. Better considering these interactions could improve crop management strategies that enhance disease control. HighlightWheat varietal mixtures modulate the mean and variance of septoria disease symptoms through specific plant-plant interactions. Mixtures reduce lesions and their variance but increase the formation of spore-containing bodies.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Unsuspected transcriptional regulations during rice defense response revealed by a toolbox of marker genes for rapid and extensive analysis of expression changes upon various environments

Since rice (Oryza sativa) is an important crop and the most advanced model for monocotyledonous species, acceding to its physiological status is important for many fundamental and applied purposes. Although this physiological status can be obtained by measuring the transcriptional regulation of marker genes, the tools to perform such analysis are often too expensive, non flexible or time consuming. Here we manually selected 96 genes considered as biomarkers of important processes taking place in rice leaves based on literature analysis. We monitored their transcriptional regulation under several treatments (disease, phytohormone inoculation, abiotic stress...) using Fluidigm method that allows to perform ~10 000 RT-QPCR reactions in one single run. This technique allowed us to verify a large part of known regulations but also to identify new, unsuspected regulations. Together, our set of genes, coupled to our data analysis protocol with Fluidigm brings a new opportunity to have a fast and reasonably cheap access to the physiological status of rice leaves in a high number of samples.

plant biology↗