Effect of Sclerotium rolfsii on Uptake of Heavy Metal Copper in Pea (Pisum sativum)

Pot experiment was designed to assess the effect of southern blight pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. on growth, yield, qualitative gene expression and metal uptake in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Soil was spiked with 25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm of Cu(II) and inoculated with S. rolfsii. Growth, biomass and yield of pea plants were significantly declined by 10-70% in treatments inoculated with S. rolfsii, and 10-50% due to different concentrations of Cu(II) alone or combined with the pathogen after 30 and 60 days of growth. Cu(II) uptake capacity of pea plants were increased under combine stress of metal and pathogen as compared to metal alone. Higher metal concentration was recorded in roots than in shoots and pods. Expression of defensin like gene was intense due to combined influence of S. rolfsii and Cu(II) than in plants under pathogenic stress alone. Metallothionein gene was expressed only in Cu(II)-incorporated treatments. The present study concludes that solitary influence of S. rolfsii or Cu was more detrimental to growth and yield of P. sativum as compared to combined stress of both the factors. (C) 2016 Friends Science Publishers