Application of heat-treated oyster shell powder to induce priming of Theobroma cocoa seedlings plant defense system against Phytophthora megakarya attack
Abstract
Priming with natural compounds is an interesting alternative for sustainable agriculture to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with the management of diseases caused by soil borne pathogens. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the soil amendment with bio-oyster shell on the stimulation of the cocoa plant defense systems against P. megakarya in the nursery. For this purpose, the potential of bio-oyster shell to stimulate cocoa plant defense mechanisms was evaluated by soil amendment at 1% W/W under greenhouse conditions. After soil amendment, agronomic growth parameters and soil parameters were analyzed. The degree of expression of phytoalexins and defense genes was carried out by UPLC-DAD- HRESI–MS (+) and qRT-PCR analyses, respectively. The results obtained show that soil treatment with these composites improves the sanitary quality of cocoa seedlings in controlled conditions through the stimulation of agronomic growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf surface area, and fresh weight of shoot and root. The latter leads to an increase in soil pH by about 32 % as well as the improvement of the nutritional status of the soil by 90%. Moreover, bio-oyster shell soil amendment induces up-regulation of TcPer-1, TcGlu1, TcChiB, and TcMYBPA genes and accumulation of primed metabolites such as flavonols, brevifolin, and isoflavone compounds before and after infection. This stimulation based on biological substances make it possible to pre-immunize cocoa plants against pathogen attacks and would be a good candidate to improve the quality of cocoa seeds in Cameroon.
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BibTeX
@article{martial2026application,
title = {{Application of heat-treated oyster shell powder to induce priming of Theobroma cocoa seedlings plant defense system against Phytophthora megakarya attack}},
author = {Tene Tayo Paul Martial and Mouafo Tchinda Romaric Armel and Yamoneka Juste and Dzelamonyuy Aristide and Wouamba Njonte Steven Collins and Boudjeko Thaddee},
journal = {Current Plant Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.cpb.2023.100283},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05790530v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Application of heat-treated oyster shell powder to induce priming of Theobroma cocoa seedlings plant defense system against Phytophthora megakarya attack
AU - Tene Tayo Paul Martial
AU - Mouafo Tchinda Romaric Armel
AU - Yamoneka Juste
AU - Dzelamonyuy Aristide
AU - Wouamba Njonte Steven Collins
AU - Boudjeko Thaddee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Current Plant Biology
DO - 10.1016/j.cpb.2023.100283
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05790530v1
AB - Priming with natural compounds is an interesting alternative for sustainable agriculture to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with the management of diseases caused by soil borne pathogens. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the soil amendment with bio-oyster shell on the stimulation of the cocoa plant defense systems against P. megakarya in the nursery. For this purpose, the potential of bio-oyster shell to stimulate cocoa plant defense mechanisms was evaluated by soil amendment at 1% W/W under greenhouse conditions. After soil amendment, agronomic growth parameters and soil parameters were analyzed. The degree of expression of phytoalexins and defense genes was carried out by UPLC-DAD- HRESI–MS (+) and qRT-PCR analyses, respectively. The results obtained show that soil treatment with these composites improves the sanitary quality of cocoa seedlings in controlled conditions through the stimulation of agronomic growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf surface area, and fresh weight of shoot and root. The latter leads to an increase in soil pH by about 32 % as well as the improvement of the nutritional status of the soil by 90%. Moreover, bio-oyster shell soil amendment induces up-regulation of TcPer-1, TcGlu1, TcChiB, and TcMYBPA genes and accumulation of primed metabolites such as flavonols, brevifolin, and isoflavone compounds before and after infection. This stimulation based on biological substances make it possible to pre-immunize cocoa plants against pathogen attacks and would be a good candidate to improve the quality of cocoa seeds in Cameroon.
SN - 2214-6628
ER -