Investigating the resistance mechanisms of Musa acuminata subsp. burmannica accession Calcutta 4 to Fusarium Wilt: insights into Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Subtropical Race 4

The aim of this study is to identify and validate target genes involved in the resistance response in Musa during the interaction with the pathogen Foc STR4, via RNAseq analysis of M. acuminata subsp. burmannica accession Calcutta 4. For this, two contrasting cultivars were employed for investigation of the interaction with Foc STR4 isolate CNPMF 218A: Calcutta 4 (a resistant wild genotype) (AA) and Prata-Ana (a susceptible commercial genotype) (AAB). Inoculation of root tissues was performed using rice inoculated with Foc at a concentration of 106 CFU/g. Total RNA was extracted from root samples collected at 1, 2 and 4 days after inoculation (DAI) for RNA-seq analyses. Sequencing was performed at the Genome Quebec Innovation Center (Canada). Libraries were constructed using the mRNA stranded Library Prep Kit (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA), and paired-end sequencing (2x100 bases) was conducted using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 PE100 technology.