Open AccessChickpea-Fusarium oxysporum interaction transcriptome reveals differential modulation of plant defense strategies
Author(s) -
Medha L. Upasani,
Bhakti Limaye,
Gayatri Gurjar,
Sunitha Manjari Kasibhatla,
Rajendra Joshi,
Narendra Y. Kadoo,
Vidya S. Gupta
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/s41598-017-07114-x
Subject(s) - fusarium wilt , biology , transcriptome , fusarium oxysporum , gene , plant disease resistance , cultivar , plant defense against herbivory , pathogen , wilt disease , microbiology and biotechnology , gene expression , botany , genetics
Fusarium wilt is one of the major biotic stresses reducing chickpea productivity. The use of wilt-resistant cultivars is the most appropriate means to combat the disease and secure productivity. As a step towards understanding the molecular basis of wilt resistance in chickpea, we investigated the transcriptomes of wilt-susceptible and wilt-resistant cultivars under both Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri (Foc) challenged and unchallenged conditions. Transcriptome profiling using LongSAGE provided a valuable insight into the molecular interactions between chickpea and Foc, which revealed several known as well as novel genes with differential or unique expression patterns in chickpea contributing to lignification, hormonal homeostasis, plant defense signaling, ROS homeostasis, R-gene mediated defense, etc. Similarly, several Foc genes characteristically required for survival and growth of the pathogen were expressed only in the susceptible cultivar with null expression of most of these genes in the resistant cultivar. This study provides a rich resource for functional characterization of the genes involved in resistance mechanism and their use in breeding for sustainable wilt-resistance. Additionally, it provides pathogen targets facilitating the development of novel control strategies.