Allium species are known for their culinary, medicinal, and ornamental purposes. Fusarium basal rot is one of the most damaging soilborne fungal diseases of Allium species and poses a significant threat to yield, quality, and storage life worldwide. Various species of Fusarium have been identified as causal agents for Fusarium basal rot, depending on the Allium species involved. Diverse disease management practices have been implemented to mitigate the impact of Fusarium basal rot. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in detecting different species of Fusarium involved in Fusarium basal rot and strategies to control them in affected Allium species involving chemical, biological, and cultural methods. It covers the latest advancements in host plant resistance research from traditional breeding to modern molecular techniques and studying secondary metabolites involved in defense mechanisms against Fusarium basal rot.

Zhe-Maidong, a cultivar of Ophiopogon japonicus is a prominent traditional herbal medicine rich in saponins. This study explored the mechanism of saponin biosynthesis and its role in alleviating Cd-induced oxidative damage in the Zhe-Maidong cultivar using three experimental groups undergoing Cd stress. In the Cd-contaminated soil treatment, total saponins were 1.68 times higher than those in the control. The saponin content in the Cd-2 and Cd-3 treatments was approximately twice as high as that in the Cd-CK treatment. These findings revealed that Cd stress leads to total saponin accumulation. Metabolomic analysis identified the accumulated saponins, primarily several monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, and triterpenoids. The increased saponins exhibited an antioxidant ability to prevent the accumulation of Cd-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Subsequent saponin application experiments provided strong evidence that saponin played a crucial role in promoting superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and reducing ROS accumulation. Transcriptome analysis revealed vital genes for saponin synthesis under Cd stress, including SE , two SSs , and six CYP450s, positively correlated with differentially expressed metabolite (DEM) levels in the saponin metabolic pathway. Additionally, the TF-gene regulatory network demonstrated that bHLH1 , bHLH3 , mTERF , and AUX/IAA transcript factors are crucial regulators of hub genes involved in saponin synthesis. These findings significantly contribute to our understanding of the regulatory network of saponin synthesis and its role in reducing oxidative damage in O . japonicum when exposed to Cd stress.

As an important medicinal plant, Panax notoginseng often suffers from various abiotic and biotic stresses during its growth, such as drought, heavy metals, fungi, bacteria and viruses. In this study, the symptom and physiological parameters of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)-infected P. notoginseng were analyzed and the RNA-seq was performed. The results showed that CMV infection affected the photosynthesis of P. notoginseng, caused serious oxidative damage to P. notoginseng and increased the activity of several antioxidant enzymes. Results of transcriptome analysis and corresponding verification showed that CMV infection changed the expression of genes related to plant defense and promoted the synthesis of P. notoginseng saponins to a certain extent, which may be defensive ways of P. notoginseng against CMV infection. Furthermore, pretreatment plants with saponins reduced the accumulation of CMV. Thus, our results provide new insights into the role of saponins in P. notoginseng response to virus infection.