Dataset Information

RNA interference core components identified and characterised in Verticillium nonalfalfae, a vascular wilt pathogenic plant fungi of hops.

ABSTRACT: The conserved RNA interference mechanism (RNAi) in the fungal kingdom has become a focus of intense scientific investigation. The three catalytic core components, Dicer-like (DCL), Argonaute (AGO), and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), and their associated small interfering RNA molecules (siRNAs) have been identified and characterised in several fungal species. Recent studies have proposed that RNAi is a major contributor to the virulence of fungal pathogens as a result of so-called trans-kingdom RNA silencing. In the present study, we report on the existence of three core RNAi proteins in the pathogenic plant fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae, which is a soilborne plant pathogen that causes severe wilting disease in hops (Humulus lupulus L.). Two DCL proteins, two AGO proteins, and two RdRP proteins were identified, and their conserved RNAi domains were characterised. Our phylogeny results confirm the existing taxonomic relationships in the Ascomycete fungal phylum and show that the fungi of the Hypocreomycetidae subclass of the Sordariomycetes class have high amino acid sequence similarity. The expression analysis revealed a potential role of RNAi in the pathogenicity of the fungi, since all the RNAi genes were highly upregulated in the highly virulent isolate T2 and were also differentially expressed in the V. nonalfalfae-susceptible Celeia and V. nonalfalfae-resistant Wye Target cultivars.

SUBMITTER: Jesenicnik T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6572790 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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RNA interference core components identified and characterised in Verticillium nonalfalfae, a vascular wilt pathogenic plant fungi of hops.

Jeseničnik Taja T Štajner Nataša N Radišek Sebastjan S Jakše Jernej J

Scientific reports 20190617 1

The conserved RNA interference mechanism (RNAi) in the fungal kingdom has become a focus of intense scientific investigation. The three catalytic core components, Dicer-like (DCL), Argonaute (AGO), and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), and their associated small interfering RNA molecules (siRNAs) have been identified and characterised in several fungal species. Recent studies have proposed that RNAi is a major contributor to the virulence of fungal pathogens as a result of so-called trans-kin ...[more]

PMID: 31209232

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Project description:KEY MESSAGE:Dynamic transcriptome profiling revealed excessive, yet ineffective, immune response to V. nonalfalfae infection in susceptible hop, global gene downregulation in shoots of resistant hop and only a few infection-associated genes in roots. Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) production is hampered by Verticillium wilt, a disease predominantly caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae. Only a few hop cultivars exhibit resistance towards it and mechanisms of this resistance have not been discovered. In this study, we compared global transcriptional responses in roots and shoots of resistant and susceptible hop plants infected by a lethal strain of V. nonalfalfae. Time-series differential gene expression profiles between infected and mock inoculated plants were determined and subjected to network-based analysis of functional enrichment. In the resistant hop cultivar, a remarkably low number of genes were differentially expressed in roots in response to V. nonalfalfae infection, while the majority of differentially expressed genes were down-regulated in shoots. The most significantly affected genes were related to cutin biosynthesis, cell wall biogenesis, lateral root development and terpenoid biosynthesis. On the other hand, susceptible hop exhibited a strong defence response in shoots and roots, including increased expression of genes associated with plant responses, such as innate immunity, wounding, jasmonic acid pathway and chitinase activity. Strong induction of defence-associated genes in susceptible hop and a low number of infection-responsive genes in the roots of resistant hop are consistent with previous findings, confirming the pattern of excessive response of the susceptible cultivar, which ultimately fails to protect the plant from V. nonalfalfae. This research offers a multifaceted overview of transcriptional responses of susceptible and resistant hop cultivars to V. nonalfalfae infection and represents a valuable resource in the study of this plant-pathogen interaction.

Dataset Information

RNA interference core components identified and characterised in Verticillium nonalfalfae, a vascular wilt pathogenic plant fungi of hops.

Publications

RNA interference core components identified and characterised in Verticillium nonalfalfae, a vascular wilt pathogenic plant fungi of hops.

Similar Datasets

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