DIVERSITY OF CULTIVABLE FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES ASSOCIATED WITH SHOOTS OF BT AND NON-BT MAIZE PLANTS

DIVERSITY OF CULTIVABLE FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES ASSOCIATED WITH SHOOTS OF BT AND NON-BT MAIZE PLANTS

Joint Event on Euro Congress on BIOTECHNOLOGY & International Conference on GENOMICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & Global Congress on CANCER SCIENCE AND THERAPY
November 26 -27, 2018 |Madrid, Spain

Rasheed Adeleke , Mashiane R A, Bezuidenhout C C Chirima J G, Rhode O H J and Roopnarain A

Agricultural Research Council, South Africa North West University- Potchefstroom campus, South Africa Agricultural Research Council - Grain Crops, South Africa University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Scientific Tracks Abstracts : J RNA Genomics

Abstract:

Interactions between endophytes and host plants could be affected by various factors such as the genetic modification of plants. In the present study, impact of genetic modification (Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cry proteins) of maize plants on the diversity of fungal endophytes was investigated. This was carried out by assessing diversity of fungal endophytes associated with a Bt-maize (MON810) and its isogenic, non-transgenic parental line at pre-flowering (50 days) and post-flowering (90 days) developmental stages. Fungal communities inhabiting the phyllosphere of Bt-maize and its isogenic parental line were isolated and identified. Twenty-one isolates were obtained from the shoots of Bt-maize and 27 from its isogenic parental line, representing 14 genera and 19 OTUs. The most frequently isolated groups were Fusarium from tassels as well as Epicoccum and Alternaria from leaves. In both cultivars, the leaves had the highest fungal diversity. Results obtained in the study indicate that there was no significant difference between isolates from Bt-maize and its parental line, which means the genetic modification did not affect the diversity of cultivable fungi associated with the Bt-maize genotype. This study further highlights the diversity of fungal endophytes that may benefit their hosts through nutrient cycling and biological control of diseases.

Biography:

Rasheed Adeleke is the faculty in soil, climate and water at Agricultural Research Council, South Africa. He completed his PhD in Microbiology at University of Pretoria in 2010 and Postgraduate in Environmental Management from University of Toronto in 2011.

E-mail: adeleker@arc.agric.za

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