Transcriptional Analyses of Mandarins Seriously Infected by 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 21;10(7):e0133652. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133652. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

A range of leaf symptoms, including blotchy mottle, yellowing, and small, upright leaves with a variety of chlorotic patterns resembling those induced by zinc deficiencies, are associated with huanglongbing (HLB, yellow shoot disease), a worldwide destructive citrus disease. HLB is presumably caused by the phloem-limited fastidious prokaryotic α-proteobacterium 'Candidatus Liberibacter spp.' Previous studies focused on the proteome and transcriptome analyses of citrus 5 to 35 weeks after 'Ca. L. spp.' inoculation. In this study, gene expression profiles were analyzed from mandarin Citrus reticulate Blanco cv. jiaogan leaves after a 2 year infection with 'Ca. L. asiaticus'. The Affymetrix microarray analysis explored 2,017 differentially expressed genes. Of the 1,364 genes had known functions, 938 (46.5%) were up-regulated. Genes related to photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolic, and structure were mostly down-regulated, with rates of 92.7%, 61.0%, and 80.2%, respectively. Genes associated with oxidation-reduction and transport were mostly up-regulated with the rates of 75.0% and 64.6%, respectively. Our data analyses implied that the infection of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' could alter hormone crosstalk, inducing the jasmine acid pathway and depressing the ethylene and salicylic acid pathways in the citrus host. This study provides an enhanced insight into the host response of citrus to 'Ca. L. asiaticus' infection at a two-years infection stage.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Citrus / genetics*
  • Citrus / metabolism
  • Citrus / microbiology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Leaves / microbiology
  • Proteobacteria / pathogenicity*
  • Proteome / genetics
  • Proteome / metabolism*
  • Transcriptome*
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • Proteome

Grants and funding

The experiment in this study was funded by National Natural Science Fund (Grant No.31201480) from National Natural Science Foundation of China and Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System (Grant No.C09058) from Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.