Cell Wall degrading enzyme activities in plant-bacteria Interaction involving Dasheen (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in vitro

Abstract

The cell wall degrading enzymes pectin methylesterase, polygalacturonase, cellulase and amylase were monitored during the pathogenicity study of Cocoyam or dasheen (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var esculenta) with Pseudomonas sp. All
the enzymes were detected in the shoots and roots of the infected and the uninfected in vitro derived plantlets at the start. There was a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the activities of two (2) enzymes in the shoots of the infected plantlets as the infection progressed towards eighteen days when assessed by the One Way Analysis of Variance. The activities of polygalacturonase, cellulase and amylase were found to be significant (P < 0.01) in the roots of the infected plantlets relative to the control (uninfected plantlets). These results suggest that the synergistic interactions of these cell wall degrading enzymes facilitated the development of disease symptoms in the in vitro dasheen plantlets and the furtherance of the infection by the Pseudomonas sp in the inoculated plantlets. The infection of dasheen caused by Pseudomonas sp could possibly be another disease limiting the
increased production of this tuber crop.