Effect of Mycovirus Infection on the Hydrolytic Enzymes Activity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4, the Causal Agent of Banana Fusarium Wilt

Authors

Zhi-Qin Lai, Institute of Postgraduate Studies, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaFollow
Clement Kiing Fook Wong, Department of Agricultural and Food Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia AND Centre for Agriculture and Food Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaFollow
Nor Ismaliza Binti Mohd Ismail, Centre for Agriculture and Food Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia AND Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900, Kampar, Perak, MalaysiaFollow
Ganesan Vadamalai, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia AND Institute of Plantation Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaFollow

Abstract

Fusarium oxysporum f.sp cubense Tropical Race 4 also known as Fusarium odoratissimum (FO) is a fungal pathogen affecting banana (Musa spp.). It secretes plant cell-wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) to penetrate and colonize roots, resulting in wilting symptoms and host death. Mycovirus is a virus that infects fungus. It was discovered that mycovirus could be a biocontrol agent by causing hypovirulence in fungal pathogens, a typical symptom of suppressed pathogenicity of an infected host. Hypovirulence was also associated to reduced PCWDE activity in several plant fungal pathogens. To date, no hypovirulent mycovirus was reported in FO. Hence, this study was conducted to characterize a specific FO strain P2S isolate, co-infected by FO mycobunyavirales-like virus 1 (FoMYV1) and FO Unclassified RNA virus 1 (FoURV1), on its pathogenicity and production of PCWDEs in comparison to uninfected and virulent POH27 and cured CP2S isolates. Result showed that FoMYV1 and FoURV1 reduced disease severity (45.0 ± 12.6%) in P2S isolate compared to POH27 (90.0 ± 5.8%) and CP2S (90.0 ± 5.8%) isolates. Furthermore, co-infection of mycovirus and reduced disease severity were likely associated to the downregulation of PCWDE production such as exoglucanase, xylanase and protease. This is the first study suggesting the possible hypovirulence mechanism induced by the co-infection of mycovirus in FO.

Keywords

FoMYV1, FoURV1, Hypovirulent, Mycovirus, Plant cell wall degrading enzymes

Article Type

Special Issue Article

First Page

165

Last Page

176

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite this Article

Lai, Zhi-Qin; Wong, Clement Kiing Fook; Ismail, Nor Ismaliza Binti Mohd; and Vadamalai, Ganesan (2026) "Effect of Mycovirus Infection on the Hydrolytic Enzymes Activity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4, the Causal Agent of Banana Fusarium Wilt," Baghdad Science Journal: Vol. 23: Iss. 1, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21123/2411-7986.5151