Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions

Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the most important crops in the global food crop industry, the second most important fruit crop and an important staple crop around the world. Due to the increased trend in global population, a raise in the intensity in crop productivity is needed. The use of plant gro...

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Main Author: Bergh, A. van den
Format: Tesis
Language:Inglés
Published: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109584
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author Bergh, A. van den
author_browse Bergh, A. van den
author_facet Bergh, A. van den
author_sort Bergh, A. van den
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the most important crops in the global food crop industry, the second most important fruit crop and an important staple crop around the world. Due to the increased trend in global population, a raise in the intensity in crop productivity is needed. The use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) could be an alternative to improve the stress-tolerance and productivity of crops, thus, reducing the amount of chemical pesticides and fertilizers needed. Trichoderma spp. are common PGPM found in the rhizosphere of plants. They can increase plant growth and resistance against (a)biotic stresses. In this thesis, the effect of the soil fungus T. asperellum on the growth of banana plants under greenhouse conditions was evaluated. The first objective of this study was to examine if T. asperellum induces growth of the pseudostem, leaves and/or root system of banana plants. Therefore, two different experiments were carried out. In the first one, the effect of the strain TRC900 of T. asperellum on the growth in liquid medium of two banana genotypes, ‘Gran Enano’ and ‘Yangambi km5’, was evaluated 21 days post inoculation (dpi). No significant increase in growth parameters was noticed between control and inoculated plants, possibly due to too limited space between plants. In the second experiment, the growth of ‘Valery’ plants was evaluated at 9 and 15 weeks after planting (WAP) and first inoculation. Here, two different T. asperellum strains (TRC900 and T34) were compared vs. a control treatment. At 9 WAP, most of the parameters showed a significant increase in both treatments with T. asperellum strains. However, at 15 WAP, the parameters generally showed less or no significant difference between the inoculated and control plants. This suggests that the growth rate of the plants treated with a T. asperellum strain was slowing down, most probably due to the size limitation of the pots, causing the control plants to catch up with them. Secondly, the influence of T. asperellum on the global expression of nine gene families was examined. Therefore, a RT-qPCR analysis was carried out on root samples in two different experiments in order to compare gene expression patterns at an earlier and later stage of the Trichoderma-root colonization process. In the first experiment, the samples were taken from ‘Gran Enano’ and ‘Yangambi km5’ plants, grown in liquid medium, 24 and 48 hours post inoculation (hpi). In the second experiment, ‘Williams’ plants were grown in pots 18 WAP and first inoculation. Genes related to fermentation, anaerobic respiration, and ethylene production showed significant upregulation in plants treated with Trichoderma either at 24 hpi, 48 hpi or 18 WAP. On the other hand, the gene related to the antioxidant machinery, was only upregulated at early stages of the colonization process, indicating higher stress levels in roots at those time points (24 and 48 hpi).
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spelling CGSpace1095842020-09-22T15:18:16Z Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions Bergh, A. van den bananas food crops musa plant diseases abiotic stress greenhouses genes plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the most important crops in the global food crop industry, the second most important fruit crop and an important staple crop around the world. Due to the increased trend in global population, a raise in the intensity in crop productivity is needed. The use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) could be an alternative to improve the stress-tolerance and productivity of crops, thus, reducing the amount of chemical pesticides and fertilizers needed. Trichoderma spp. are common PGPM found in the rhizosphere of plants. They can increase plant growth and resistance against (a)biotic stresses. In this thesis, the effect of the soil fungus T. asperellum on the growth of banana plants under greenhouse conditions was evaluated. The first objective of this study was to examine if T. asperellum induces growth of the pseudostem, leaves and/or root system of banana plants. Therefore, two different experiments were carried out. In the first one, the effect of the strain TRC900 of T. asperellum on the growth in liquid medium of two banana genotypes, ‘Gran Enano’ and ‘Yangambi km5’, was evaluated 21 days post inoculation (dpi). No significant increase in growth parameters was noticed between control and inoculated plants, possibly due to too limited space between plants. In the second experiment, the growth of ‘Valery’ plants was evaluated at 9 and 15 weeks after planting (WAP) and first inoculation. Here, two different T. asperellum strains (TRC900 and T34) were compared vs. a control treatment. At 9 WAP, most of the parameters showed a significant increase in both treatments with T. asperellum strains. However, at 15 WAP, the parameters generally showed less or no significant difference between the inoculated and control plants. This suggests that the growth rate of the plants treated with a T. asperellum strain was slowing down, most probably due to the size limitation of the pots, causing the control plants to catch up with them. Secondly, the influence of T. asperellum on the global expression of nine gene families was examined. Therefore, a RT-qPCR analysis was carried out on root samples in two different experiments in order to compare gene expression patterns at an earlier and later stage of the Trichoderma-root colonization process. In the first experiment, the samples were taken from ‘Gran Enano’ and ‘Yangambi km5’ plants, grown in liquid medium, 24 and 48 hours post inoculation (hpi). In the second experiment, ‘Williams’ plants were grown in pots 18 WAP and first inoculation. Genes related to fermentation, anaerobic respiration, and ethylene production showed significant upregulation in plants treated with Trichoderma either at 24 hpi, 48 hpi or 18 WAP. On the other hand, the gene related to the antioxidant machinery, was only upregulated at early stages of the colonization process, indicating higher stress levels in roots at those time points (24 and 48 hpi). 2019-06 2020-09-22T15:18:16Z 2020-09-22T15:18:16Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109584 en Limited Access Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Van den Bergh, A. (2019). Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions. Leuven, Belgium: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, (132 p.).
spellingShingle bananas
food crops
musa
plant diseases
abiotic stress
greenhouses
genes
plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
Bergh, A. van den
Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title_full Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title_fullStr Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title_short Assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi Trichoderma asperellum in banana (Musa spp.): evaluation under greenhouse conditions
title_sort assessing the effect of the plant growth promoting fungi trichoderma asperellum in banana musa spp evaluation under greenhouse conditions
topic bananas
food crops
musa
plant diseases
abiotic stress
greenhouses
genes
plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109584
work_keys_str_mv AT berghavanden assessingtheeffectoftheplantgrowthpromotingfungitrichodermaasperelluminbananamusasppevaluationundergreenhouseconditions