Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides
Abstract Background The cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.), one of the most important crops worldwide for food, feed, biofuels, and industrial applications, faces significant constraints due to Fusarium verticillioides, a fungus responsible for severe diseases including seedling blights, stalk rot,...
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2024-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05697-y |
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| author | Thi Nhien Tran Alessandra Lanubile Adriano Marocco Mario Enrico Pè Matteo Dell’Acqua Mara Miculan |
| author_facet | Thi Nhien Tran Alessandra Lanubile Adriano Marocco Mario Enrico Pè Matteo Dell’Acqua Mara Miculan |
| author_sort | Thi Nhien Tran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.), one of the most important crops worldwide for food, feed, biofuels, and industrial applications, faces significant constraints due to Fusarium verticillioides, a fungus responsible for severe diseases including seedling blights, stalk rot, and ear rot. Its impact is worsened by the fact that chemical and agronomic measures used to control the infection are often inefficient. Hence, genetic resistance is considered the most reliable resource to reduce the damage. This study aims to elucidate the genetic basis of F. verticillioides resistance in maize. Results Young seedlings of eight divergent maize lines, founders of the MAGIC population, were artificially inoculated with a F. verticillioides strain. Phenotypic analysis and transcriptome sequencing of both control and treated samples identified several hundred differentially expressed genes enriched in metabolic processes associated with terpene synthesis. A WGCNA further refined the pool of genes with potential implications in disease response and found a limited set of hub genes, encoding bZIP and MYB transcription factors, or involved in carbohydrate metabolism, solute transport processes, calcium signaling, and lipid pathways. Finally, additional gene resources were provided by combining transcriptomic data with previous QTL mapping, thereby shedding light on the molecular mechanisms in the maize-F. verticillioides interaction. Conclusions The transcriptome profiling of eight divergent MAGIC maize founder lines with contrasting levels of Fusarium verticillioides resistance combined with phenotypic analysis, clarifies the molecular mechanisms underlying the maize-F. verticillioides interaction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b022a7667743462e856a7440bf7af4cd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b022a7667743462e856a7440bf7af4cd2024-11-24T12:17:28ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292024-11-0124111410.1186/s12870-024-05697-yTranscriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioidesThi Nhien Tran0Alessandra Lanubile1Adriano Marocco2Mario Enrico Pè3Matteo Dell’Acqua4Mara Miculan5Center of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaDepartment of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro CuoreDepartment of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro CuoreCenter of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaCenter of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaCenter of Plant Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’AnnaAbstract Background The cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.), one of the most important crops worldwide for food, feed, biofuels, and industrial applications, faces significant constraints due to Fusarium verticillioides, a fungus responsible for severe diseases including seedling blights, stalk rot, and ear rot. Its impact is worsened by the fact that chemical and agronomic measures used to control the infection are often inefficient. Hence, genetic resistance is considered the most reliable resource to reduce the damage. This study aims to elucidate the genetic basis of F. verticillioides resistance in maize. Results Young seedlings of eight divergent maize lines, founders of the MAGIC population, were artificially inoculated with a F. verticillioides strain. Phenotypic analysis and transcriptome sequencing of both control and treated samples identified several hundred differentially expressed genes enriched in metabolic processes associated with terpene synthesis. A WGCNA further refined the pool of genes with potential implications in disease response and found a limited set of hub genes, encoding bZIP and MYB transcription factors, or involved in carbohydrate metabolism, solute transport processes, calcium signaling, and lipid pathways. Finally, additional gene resources were provided by combining transcriptomic data with previous QTL mapping, thereby shedding light on the molecular mechanisms in the maize-F. verticillioides interaction. Conclusions The transcriptome profiling of eight divergent MAGIC maize founder lines with contrasting levels of Fusarium verticillioides resistance combined with phenotypic analysis, clarifies the molecular mechanisms underlying the maize-F. verticillioides interaction.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05697-yFusarium verticillioidesMAGIC populationRNA sequencingRolled Towel AssayWGCNAZea mays |
| spellingShingle | Thi Nhien Tran Alessandra Lanubile Adriano Marocco Mario Enrico Pè Matteo Dell’Acqua Mara Miculan Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides BMC Plant Biology Fusarium verticillioides MAGIC population RNA sequencing Rolled Towel Assay WGCNA Zea mays |
| title | Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides |
| title_full | Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides |
| title_fullStr | Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides |
| title_short | Transcriptome profiling of eight Zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to Fusarium verticillioides |
| title_sort | transcriptome profiling of eight zea mays lines identifies genes responsible for the resistance to fusarium verticillioides |
| topic | Fusarium verticillioides MAGIC population RNA sequencing Rolled Towel Assay WGCNA Zea mays |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-024-05697-y |
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