Physiological and Molecular Analysis of Sugarcane (Varieties-F134 and NCo310) During Sporisorium scitamineum Interaction

Sugarcane smut is a prevalent fungal disease, which causes considerable cane yield loss in China. However, limited information is available for sugarcane infected by the pathogen Sporisorium scitamineum at the different developmental stages. The present study evaluated the physiological, cytological, biochemical, and molecular changes in two sugarcane varieties: F134 and NCo310, at consecutive time intervals (30-180 days) after S. scitamineum infection. qRT-PCR examination results showed that the expression level of chitinase (ScChi) was higher (4, 5, 6, and 40 times) in F134 and that of glucanase (ScGluD1) was 2 times higher at 30, 90 and 180 days as compared to NCo310. Similarly, the elevated levels of the hormone GA(3), ABA, and IAA showed incompatible results in leaf and root tissues in both sugarcane varieties. The results confirmed the disease resistance in sugarcane variety F134 against pathogen S. scitamineum after the interaction. In addition, SDS-PAGE assay showed the induction of some protein bands in infected NCo310 at 60 days, and anatomical changes in the nucleus and chloroplast structure in stem tissues were also confirmed by TEM, showing highly disrupted in NCo310 as compared to F134. All physiological parameters decreased more in NCo310 than F134, as compared to control. The overall studies revealed that the variety NCo310 had higher disease severity than F134. The present findings will shed new light on the role of differential expression of stress-related genes and biochemical changes playing important role in sugarcane smut infection.