Plant-Pathogen Interaction, Circadian Rhythm, and Hormone-Related Gene Expression Provide Indicators of Phytoplasma Infection in Paulownia fortunei

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Guoqiang Fan¹  Yanpeng Dong²  Minjie Deng²  Zhenli Zhao²  Suyan Niu²  Enkai Xu² 

[1] Institute of Paulownia, Henan Agricultural University, 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou 450002, China;

关键词: Paulownia fortunei;    Paulownia witches’ broom (PaWB);    phtoplasma;    de novo assembled transcriptome;    disease resistance gene;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151223141

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Phytoplasmas are mycoplasma-like pathogens of witches’ broom disease, and are responsible for serious yield losses of Paulownia trees worldwide. The molecular mechanisms of disease development in Paulownia are of considerable interest, but still poorly understood. Here, we have applied transcriptome sequencing technology and a de novo assembly approach to analyze gene expression profiles in Paulownia fortunei infected by phytoplasmas. Our previous researches suggested that methyl methane sulfonated (MMS) could reverse the effects of the infection. In this study, leaf samples from healthy, infected, and both infected and methyl methane sulfonate treated plants were analyzed. The results showed that the gene expression profile of P. fortunei underwent dramatic changes after Paulownia witches’ broom (PaWB) phytoplasma infection. Genes that encoded key enzymes in plant-pathogen interaction processes were significantly up-regulated in the PaWB-infected Paulownia. Genes involved in circadian rhythm and hormone-related genes were also altered in Paulownia after PaWB infection. However, after the PaWB-infected plants were treated with MMS, the expression profiles of these genes returned to the levels in the healthy controls. The data will help identify potential PaWB disease-resistance genes that could be targeted to inhibit the growth and reproduction of the pathogen and to increase plant resistance.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.