Tofazzal Islam

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Biotechnology, Department Member

Followers

316

Following

316

Co-authors

Public Views

I'm a Professor and Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering of BSMRAU, Bangladesh. Current research foci of my team include molecular plant-microbe interactions, genomics. Further details about me can be seen at www.btlbsmrau.org I think open data sharing and open science approaches can dramatically impact on making the change in society and addressing new challenges in our society.
Address: Dhaka, Dhāka, Bangladesh

less

Prof. Nagwa Mohamed A . Aref

Ain Shams University

Prof. Dr. Moustafa Moharam

Sohag University

Gwen Robbins Schug

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Jesper Hoffmeyer

University of Copenhagen

Hanaa Ahmed

Animal Health Research Institute

Richard Cloutier

Université du Québec à Rimouski

Prof. Tofazzal Islam

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University

Prof.Dr. İbrahim USLU

Gazi University

Gorm Shackelford

University of Cambridge

Juana María Coronado-Blanco

Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Tofazzal Islam

Role of seed infection for the near and far distance dissemination of wheat blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum

Frontiers in Microbiology, Feb 1, 2023

Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) is a devastating fungal phytopathogen causing wheat b... more Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) is a devastating fungal phytopathogen causing wheat blast disease which threatens wheat production particularly in warmer climate zones. Effective disease control is hampered by the limited knowledge on the life cycle, epidemiology, and pathogenicity of MoT. Since MoT mainly infects and colonizes the inflorescences of wheat, infection, invasion routes and colonization of MoT on wheat ears and in wheat seeds were investigated in order to assess potential seed transmission pathways. MoT was spray inoculated on two wheat cultivars (Sumai 3, susceptible and Milan, resistant) at three ear maturity stages [full ear emergence, growth stage (GS) 59; mid flowering, GS 65; and end of flowering, GS 69]. Incidence of MoT on Sumai 3 seeds was 100% and 20-25% on Milan. MoT sporulation rate on Sumai 3 contaminated seeds was more than 15 times higher than on Milan. Repeated washes of seed samples for removing paraffin fixation hampers seed microscopy. To overcome the damage of seed samples, we used hand-sectioned seed samples instead of paraffin-fixed microtome samples to facilitate microscopy. The colonization of MoT within various seed tissues was followed by light and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Invasion of MoT in seeds predominantly occurred in the caryopsis germ region, but entry via other seed parts was also observed, confirming the potential of intense colonization of MoT in wheat grains. Fungal spread in wheat plants growing from MoT infected seeds was monitored through plating, microscopic and molecular techniques. Under greenhouse conditions, no spread of MoT from infected seeds to seedlings later than GS 21 or to ears was detected, neither in Milan nor in Sumai 3. We therefore conclude, that MoT may not systemically contaminate inflorescences and seeds in neither susceptible nor resistant wheat cultivars. However, initial blast symptoms, only found on seedlings of Sumai 3 but not Milan, resulted in the formation of new conidia, which may serve as inoculum source for plant-to-plant dissemination by airborne infection of plant stands in the field (short distance spread). Ultimately the inoculum may infect young inflorescences in the field and contaminate seeds. Our findings again stress the risk of long-distance dissemination of wheat blast across continents through MoTcontaminated seeds. This underlines the importance of mandatory use of healthy seeds in strategies to control any further spread of wheat blast.

Tofazzal Islam

Uploads

Papers by Tofazzal Islam

Log In