Expression of psbA gene in watermelon infected with Cucumis melo amalgavirus 1 that treated with Effective microorganism-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54174/2f9tvs43Keywords:
Watermelon, CmAV1, psbA gene, Effective microorganism-1, Photosynthesis, HTSAbstract
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important horticultural crop and is susceptible to various viral infections, particularly Cucumis melo amalgavirus 1 (CmAV1), a persistent virus associated with reduced growth and physiological stress. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of effective microorganism-1 (EM-1) on the expression of the psbA gene, which encodes the D1 protein of Photosystem II, in watermelon infected with CmAV1. EM-1 was applied before and after viral inoculation, and leaf samples were analyzed using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq using technique HTS) and bioinformatics. The results showed differences in psbA expression among treatments and between two hybrids, Sultan and Lord. The highest mapped reads were observed in T4 (Sultan) and T9 (Lord), indicating improved gene expression in EM-1-treated plants. Pairwise identity was consistently high (99.2–99.5%), with complete coverage of the reference sequence. These findings suggest that EM-1 can moderate viral stress, improve photosynthetic gene expression, and potentially enhance plant performance under CmAV1 infection.
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