Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling reveals toxicity and molecular action mechanisms of bioengineered chitosan-iron nanocomposites against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the most devastating bacterial pathogen, which jeopardizes the sustainable rice (Oryza sativa L.) production system. The use of antibiotics and conventional pesticides has become ineffective due to increased pathogen resistance and associated ecotoxico-logical concerns. Thus, the development of effective and sustainable antimicrobial agents for plant disease management is inevitable. Here, we investigated the toxicity and molecular action mechanisms of bioengineered chitosan-iron nanocomposites (BNCs) against Xoo using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. The tran-scriptomic and proteomics analyses revealed molecular antibacterial mechanisms of BNCs against Xoo. Tran-scriptomic data revealed that various processes related to cell membrane biosynthesis, antioxidant stress, DNA damage, flagellar biosynthesis and transcriptional regulator were impaired upon BNCs exposure, which clearly showing the interaction of BNCs to Xoo pathogen. Similarly, proteomic profiling showed that BNCs treatment significantly altered the levels of functional proteins involved in the integral component of the cell membrane, catalase activity, oxidation-reduction process and metabolic process in Xoo, which is consistent with the results of the transcriptomic analysis. Overall, this study suggested that BNCs has great potential to serve as an eco-friendly, sustainable, and non-toxic alternative to traditional agrichemicals to control the BLB disease in rice.

Automated summary

In this study, the toxicity and molecular action mechanisms of bioengineered chitosan-iron nanocomposites (BNCs) against the bacterial leaf blight pathogen were investigated using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. The results showed that BNCs inhibited various processes related to cell membrane biosynthesis, antioxidant stress, DNA damage, flagellar biosynthesis, and transcriptional regulation. The study suggests that BNCs have the potential to serve as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative for controlling bacterial leaf blight in rice.