ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
Host-resistance in Allium genotypes against pantaphos producing Pantoea ananatis
Provisionally accepted
Bhabesh Dutta1*
Brendon Myers1
Navjot Kaur1Angelo Manzatto2
Michelle Pena1Adriano Ferrasa2Elkin Fernando Mendoz3Jhon Jairo Gonzale3
Roberto H. Hirochi Herai4- 1University of Georgia, Athens, United States
- 2Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil
- 3Francisco de Paula Santander University, Cúcuta, Colombia
- 4Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil
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Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a widely cultivated crop that suffers from substantial losses due to Pantoea ananatis (PA) infection, a bacterial pathogen responsible for onion center rot disease (OCR). Severe outbreaks of OCR have been reported globally, leading to significant economic impacts, particularly in onion-producing regions worldwide. The virulence of the pathogen is driven by the chromosomally located HiVir gene cluster, which produces the phytotoxin 'pantaphos', causing extensive necrosis in infected tissues. Despite its economic importance, Allium genotypes with resistance against PA are unknown. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive screening across 982 Allium genotypes to evaluate resistance against PA. Only one A. cepa genotype, DPLD 19-39, demonstrated a consistent resistant phenotype by exhibiting lower foliar necrosis and bulb rot. Moreover, we also performed in vivo transcriptome sequencing and analysis of onion plants infected by PA under distinct conditions, and identified several mis-regulated pathways involved with plant resistance, including cell wall reinforcement, oxidative stress regulation, and programmed cell death. Our findings indicate a potential mechanism for resistance against PA in A. cepa and suggest that future efforts should focus on these defense pathways to develop PA-resistant onion genotypes.
Keywords: Allium, Pantoea ananatis, Onion Center Rot, Resistance, plant disease, in vivotranscriptome
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dutta, Myers, Kaur, Manzatto, Pena, Ferrasa, Mendoz, Gonzale and Herai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bhabesh Dutta, bhabesh@uga.edu
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