Cultivar-specific markers, mutations, and chimerisim of Cavendish banana somaclonal variants resistant to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) is a destructive soil-borne fungus threatening global banana production. The effective control of Foc using fungicides is not available. The Taiwan Banana Research Institute developed disease-resistant somaclonal variants from Giant Cavendish bananas through tissue culture to control this disease. However, the mutations in these Foc TR4 resistant somaclonal variants have not yet been determined. Using RNA-seq analysis, we identified sequence variations between three Foc TR4–resistant cultivars: ‘Tai-Chiao No. 5’ (TC5), ‘Tai-Chiao No. 7’ (TC7), and ‘Formosana’ (FM), and their susceptible progenitor ‘Pei-Chiao’ (PC). Several cultivar-specific sequence variants were converted into molecular markers. These markers can assist with the identification of TBRI Cavendish somaclonal variants for the quality control of tissue culture propagation, and the protection of breeders’ rights. Notably, compared with PC, the three resistant cultivars all showed single-copy chromosomal deletions. The deletion regions in TC7 and Formosana overlap. Moreover, chimerism was detected in TC7 plants. These findings provide important directions for studying mechanisms underlying Foc TR4 resistance.
Bo-Han Hou, Yi-Heng Tsai, Ming-Hau Chiang, Shu-Ming Tsao, Shih-Hung Huang, Chih-Ping Chao, Ho-Ming Chen (2022) Cultivar-specific markers, mutations, and chimerisim of Cavendish banana somaclonal variants resistant to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 BMC genomics, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-022-08692-5