Effects of Nitroxin Fertilizers on Expression Chitinase and Cupi4 Genes in Cucumber Seedlings Infected to Pythium aphanidermatum

Pythium apanidermatum is the causal agent of cucumber damping-off disease. Regarding to development of sustainable agriculture, use of bio-fertilizers will be essential for plant disease management. In this study, the effect of nitroxin bio-fertilizer on resistance of cucumber seedlings (ES-2862 cultivar) to damping off disease was investigated. After treatment of infected seedlings with nitroxin, disease severity was measured in comparison with control. The leaves of seedling were used to total RNA extraction and gene expression analysis using Real Time PCR. The results of this assay showed that nitroxin bio-fertilizer reduced the disease severity. Also, expression of Chitinase and Cupi4 genes at 24 and 48 h after inoculation were increased. The the expression of Cupi4 were changed more than that of Chitinase gene. The results of this research indicate that application of nitroxin could increase resistance of sensitive cultivars against damping-off disease.