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Effect of fusaric acid on the leaf physiology of cucumber seedlings

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Abstract

The damaging effects of fusaric acid (FA), a fungal toxin produced by Fusarium oxysporum, on cucumber seedlings were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. The accumulation of red ink was introduced as damage determination, the vines and mesophyll cells of the plants treated with high concentration of FA were acutely stained to a deep red colour, and the quantity of red ink in the shoots and roots was significantly increased. The leaf plasma membrane H+-ATPase was significantly inhibited after treatment with FA. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy and electrolyte leakage experiments revealed severe FA-induced injury to leaf cell membranes. The membrane injury and wilt in the leaves of FA-treated plants disturbed the water status, and the leaf water potential was significantly decreased. The present results suggested that FA inhibits the leaf plasma membrane H+-ATPase and reduce the cell membrane integrity of cucumber seedlings, thus leading to leaf wilting and a reduction of the leaf water potential.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31172020 and 41071160). We thank Prof. Dr. Z. Zhong, Nanjing Agricultural University, China, for helpful discussion and critical comments of this work.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Tongwei Road 6, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, 210095

    Min Wang, Ning Ling, Xian Dong, Xiaokang Liu, Qirong Shen & Shiwei Guo

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Correspondence to Shiwei Guo.

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Wang, M., Ling, N., Dong, X. et al. Effect of fusaric acid on the leaf physiology of cucumber seedlings. Eur J Plant Pathol 138, 103–112 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-013-0306-4

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