Comparative transcriptome provides insights into gene regulation network associated with the resistance to Fusarium wilt in grafted wax gourd Benincasa hispida

Baibi Zhu; Chunqiang Li; Min Wang; Jianjun Chen; Yanping Hu; Wenfeng Huang; Huifang Wang

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1277500

Comparative transcriptome provides insights into gene regulation network associated with the resistance to Fusarium wilt in grafted wax gourd Benincasa hispida

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Oct 27:14:1277500. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1277500. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Baibi Zhu^{1

2}, Chunqiang Li³, Min Wang^{1

2}, Jianjun Chen^{1

2}, Yanping Hu^{1

2}, Wenfeng Huang^{1

2}, Huifang Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Vegetables, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China.
² Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biology of Hainan Province, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China.
³ Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, Hainan, China.
⁴ Institute of Plant Protection, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Research Center of Quality Safety and Standards for Agro-Products, Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Haikou, Hainan, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Wilt is a soil-borne disease caused by Fusarium that has become a serious threat to wax gourd production. Disease-resistant graft wax gourds are an effective treatment for Fusarium wilt. However, there are few reports on the defense mechanism of graft wax gourd against wilt diseases.

Methods: In the present study, disease and growth indices were compared between grafted and original wax gourds after infection with Fusarium. High level of disease resistance was observed in the grafted wax gourd, with a lower disease index and low impacts on growth after infection. RNA-seq was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the adjacent treatment time points in the grafted and original wax gourds, respectively. Then a comparative temporal analysis was performed and a total of 1,190 genes were identified to show different gene expression patterns between the two wax gourd groups during Fusarium infection.

Result and discussion: Here, high level of disease resistance was observed in the grafted wax gourd, with a lower disease index and low impacts on growth after infection. The DEG number was higher in grafted group than original group, and the enriched functional categories and pathways of DEGs were largely inconsistent between the two groups. These genes were enriched in multiple pathways, of which the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway enhanced the early defense response, and cutin, suberin, and wax biosynthesis signaling pathways enhanced surface resistance in grafted wax gourd in comparison to original group. Our study provides insights into the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying the resistance of grafted wax gourds to Fusarium wilt infection, which will facilitate the breeding and production of wilt-resistant rootstocks.

Keywords: Fusarium wilt; gene regulation network; graft; resistance; wax gourd.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Major Science and Technology Plan of Hainan Province (ZDKJ2021005), the Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fun (jscx202014), and the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (KJCX-2020-09).