Fusarium oxysporum triggers tissue-specific transcriptional reprogramming in Arabidopsis thaliana

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 7;10(4):e0121902. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121902. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Some of the most devastating agricultural diseases are caused by root-infecting pathogens, yet the majority of studies on these interactions to date have focused on the host responses of aerial tissues rather than those belowground. Fusarium oxysporum is a root-infecting pathogen that causes wilt disease on several plant species including Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate and compare transcriptional changes triggered by F. oxysporum in different Arabidopsis tissues, we infected soil-grown plants with F. oxysporum and subjected root and leaf tissue harvested at early and late timepoints to RNA-seq analyses. At least half of the genes induced or repressed by F. oxysporum showed tissue-specific regulation. Regulators of auxin and ABA signalling, mannose binding lectins and peroxidases showed strong differential expression in root tissue. We demonstrate that ARF2 and PRX33, two genes regulated in the roots, promote susceptibility to F. oxysporum. In the leaves, defensins and genes associated with the response to auxin, cold and senescence were strongly regulated while jasmonate biosynthesis and signalling genes were induced throughout the plant.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / microbiology*
  • Fungal Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Fusarium / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / physiology*
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology*
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology*
  • Plant Roots / microbiology*

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was partially funded by the CSIRO OCE (Office of the Chief Executive) postdoctoral fellowship to RL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.