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Aci MM, Tsalgatidou PC, Boutsika A, Dalianis A, Michaliou M, Delis C, Tsitsigiannis DI, Paplomatas E, Malacrinò A, Schena L, Zambounis A. Comparative transcriptome profiling and co-expression network analysis uncover the key genes associated with pear petal defense responses against Monilinia laxa infection. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1377937. [PMID: 38516670 PMCID: PMC10954844 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1377937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Pear brown rot and blossom blight caused by Monilinia laxa seriously affect pear production worldwide. Here, we compared the transcriptomic profiles of petals after inoculation with M. laxa using two pear cultivars with different levels of sensitivity to disease (Sissy, a relatively tolerant cultivar, and Kristalli, a highly susceptible cultivar). Physiological indexes were also monitored in the petals of both cultivars at 2 h and 48 h after infection (2 HAI and 48 HAI). RNA-seq data and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) allowed the identification of key genes and pathways involved in immune- and defense-related responses that were specific for each cultivar in a time-dependent manner. In particular, in the Kristalli cultivar, a significant transcriptome reprogramming occurred early at 2 HAI and was accompanied either by suppression of key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the modulation of any defense responses or by activation of DEGs acting as sensitivity factors promoting susceptibility. In contrast to the considerably high number of DEGs induced early in the Kristalli cultivar, upregulation of specific DEGs involved in pathogen perception and signal transduction, biosynthesis of secondary and primary metabolism, and other defense-related responses was delayed in the Sissy cultivar, occurring at 48 HAI. The WGCNA highlighted one module that was significantly and highly correlated to the relatively tolerant cultivar. Six hub genes were identified within this module, including three WRKY transcription factor-encoding genes: WRKY 65 (pycom05g27470), WRKY 71 (pycom10g22220), and WRKY28 (pycom17g13130), which may play a crucial role in enhancing the tolerance of pear petals to M. laxa. Our results will provide insights into the interplay of the molecular mechanisms underlying immune responses of petals at the pear-M. laxa pathosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meriem Miyassa Aci
- Department of Agriculture, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | | | - Anastasia Boutsika
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Andreas Dalianis
- Laboratory of Vegetable Crops, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Maria Michaliou
- Laboratory of Vegetable Crops, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Costas Delis
- Department of Agriculture, University of the Peloponnese, Kalamata, Greece
| | - Dimitrios I. Tsitsigiannis
- Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Epaminondas Paplomatas
- Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Antonino Malacrinò
- Department of Agriculture, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | - Leonardo Schena
- Department of Agriculture, Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | - Antonios Zambounis
- Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Umer MJ, Zheng J, Yang M, Batool R, Abro AA, Hou Y, Xu Y, Gebremeskel H, Wang Y, Zhou Z, Cai X, Liu F, Zhang B. Insights to Gossypium defense response against Verticillium dahliae: the Cotton Cancer. Funct Integr Genomics 2023; 23:142. [PMID: 37121989 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01065-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae, also referred as "The Cotton Cancer," is responsible for causing Verticillium wilt in cotton crops, a destructive disease with a global impact. To infect cotton plants, the pathogen employs multiple virulence mechanisms such as releasing enzymes that degrade cell walls, activating genes that contribute to virulence, and using protein effectors. Conversely, cotton plants have developed numerous defense mechanisms to combat the impact of V. dahliae. These include strengthening the cell wall by producing lignin and depositing callose, discharging reactive oxygen species, and amassing hormones related to defense. Despite the efforts to develop resistant cultivars, there is still no permanent solution to Verticillium wilt due to a limited understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive both resistance and pathogenesis is currently prevalent. To address this challenge, cutting-edge technologies such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9), host-induced gene silencing (HIGS), and gene delivery via nano-carriers could be employed as effective alternatives to control the disease. This article intends to present an overview of V. dahliae virulence mechanisms and discuss the different cotton defense mechanisms against Verticillium wilt, including morphophysiological and biochemical responses and signaling pathways including jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and strigolactones (SLs). Additionally, the article highlights the significance of microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in gene expression regulation, as well as the different methods employed to identify and functionally validate genes to achieve resistance against this disease. Gaining a more profound understanding of these mechanisms could potentially result in the creation of more efficient strategies for combating Verticillium wilt in cotton crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Jawad Umer
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - Jie Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, China/National Nanfan, Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, 572025, China
| | - Mengying Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
- School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Raufa Batool
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Aamir Ali Abro
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - Yuqing Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - Yanchao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - Haileslassie Gebremeskel
- Mehoni Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Yuhong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - ZhongLi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
| | - Xiaoyan Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, China/National Nanfan, Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, 572025, China
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Zhengzhou University/Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang, China
| | - Fang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China.
- Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, China/National Nanfan, Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sanya, 572025, China.
- School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Zhengzhou University/Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Anyang, China.
| | - Baohong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, 455000, China.
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA.
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Zhu Y, Zhao M, Li T, Wang L, Liao C, Liu D, Zhang H, Zhao Y, Liu L, Ge X, Li B. Interactions between Verticillium dahliae and cotton: pathogenic mechanism and cotton resistance mechanism to Verticillium wilt. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1174281. [PMID: 37152175 PMCID: PMC10161258 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1174281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Cotton is widely grown in many countries around the world due to the huge economic value of the total natural fiber. Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae, is the most devastating disease that led to extensive yield losses and fiber quality reduction in cotton crops. Developing resistant cotton varieties through genetic engineering is an effective, economical, and durable strategy to control Verticillium wilt. However, there are few resistance gene resources in the currently planted cotton varieties, which has brought great challenges and difficulties for breeding through genetic engineering. Further revealing the molecular mechanism between V. dahliae and cotton interaction is crucial to discovering genes related to disease resistance. In this review, we elaborated on the pathogenic mechanism of V. dahliae and the resistance mechanism of cotton to Verticillium wilt. V. dahliae has evolved complex mechanisms to achieve pathogenicity in cotton, mainly including five aspects: (1) germination and growth of microsclerotia; (2) infection and successful colonization; (3) adaptation to the nutrient-deficient environment and competition of nutrients; (4) suppression and manipulation of cotton immune responses; (5) rapid reproduction and secretion of toxins. Cotton has evolved multiple physiological and biochemical responses to cope with V. dahliae infection, including modification of tissue structures, accumulation of antifungal substances, homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), induction of Ca2+ signaling, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, hormone signaling, and PAMPs/effectors-triggered immune response (PTI/ETI). This review will provide an important reference for the breeding of new cotton germplasm resistant to Verticillium wilt through genetic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutao Zhu
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
- *Correspondence: Yutao Zhu, ; Bingbing Li,
| | - Mei Zhao
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Taotao Li
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Lianzhe Wang
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Chunli Liao
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Dongxiao Liu
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Huamin Zhang
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
| | - Yanpeng Zhao
- Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Lisen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Xiaoyang Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China
| | - Bingbing Li
- College of Life Science and Engineering, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China
- *Correspondence: Yutao Zhu, ; Bingbing Li,
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Ninkuu V, Yan J, Fu Z, Yang T, Ziemah J, Ullrich MS, Kuhnert N, Zeng H. Lignin and Its Pathway-Associated Phytoalexins Modulate Plant Defense against Fungi. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 9:jof9010052. [PMID: 36675873 PMCID: PMC9865837 DOI: 10.3390/jof9010052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungi infections cause approximately 60-70% yield loss through diseases such as rice blast, powdery mildew, Fusarium rot, downy mildew, etc. Plants naturally respond to these infections by eliciting an array of protective metabolites to confer physical or chemical protection. Among plant metabolites, lignin, a phenolic compound, thickens the middle lamella and the secondary cell walls of plants to curtail fungi infection. The biosynthesis of monolignols (lignin monomers) is regulated by genes whose transcript abundance significantly improves plant defense against fungi. The catalytic activities of lignin biosynthetic enzymes also contribute to the accumulation of other defense compounds. Recent advances focus on modifying the lignin pathway to enhance plant growth and defense against pathogens. This review presents an overview of monolignol regulatory genes and their contributions to fungi immunity, as reported over the last five years. This review expands the frontiers in lignin pathway engineering to enhance plant defense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Ninkuu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
| | - Jianpei Yan
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
| | - Zenchao Fu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
| | - Tengfeng Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
| | - James Ziemah
- Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Jacobs University, College Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Matthias S. Ullrich
- Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Jacobs University, College Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Nikolai Kuhnert
- Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Jacobs University, College Ring 1, 28759 Bremen, Germany
| | - Hongmei Zeng
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China
- Correspondence:
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