Analysis of genes that are differentially expressed during the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum-Phaseolus vulgaris interaction.

Rosângela V. de Andrade,Silvana Petrofeza,Marília B. Oliveira,Maria F. Grossi-de-Sá

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.01162

Abstract

The fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, one of the most important plant pathogens, causes white mold on a wide range of crops. Crop yield can be dramatically decreased due to this disease, depending on the plant cultivar and environmental conditions. In this study, a suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library approach was used for the identification of pathogen and plant genes that were differentially expressed during infection of the susceptible cultivar BRS Pérola of Phaseolus vulgaris L. A total of 979 unigenes (430 contigs and 549 singletons) were obtained and classified according to their functional categories. The transcriptional profile of 11 fungal genes related to pathogenicity and virulence were evaluated by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Additionally, the temporal expression profile obtained by RT-qPCR was evaluated for the following categories of plant defense-related genes: pathogenesis-related genes (PvPR1, PvPR2, and PvPR3), phenylpropanoid pathway genes (PvIsof, PvFPS1, and 4CL), and genes involved in defense and stress-related categories (PvLox, PvHiprp, PvGST, PvPod, and PvDox). Data obtained in this study provide a starting point for achieving a better understanding of the pathosystem S. sclerotiorum–P. vulgaris.

Highlights

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are the world’s most important grain legume for direct human consumption (Broughton et al, 2003)
Necrotic spots appeared on stem tissues after 24 hpi (Figure 1B), and small necrotic areas were clearly visible at 48 hpi (Figure 1C)
Aiming to isolate the pathogen and plant genes that were differentially expressed during the S. sclerotiorum–P. vulgaris interaction, the susceptible common bean cultivar BRS Pérola was used, and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was employed for the generation of a cDNA library

Summary

Introduction

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are the world’s most important grain legume for direct human consumption (Broughton et al, 2003). Bean production is affected by several diseases, such as white mold, which is one of the most important diseases that affect the quality and yield of crops on a global scale. The pathogen associated with white mold, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, is a necrotrophic pathogen with worldwide distribution and is known to infect over 400 species of plants (Boland and Hall, 1994). The sclerotia of this pathogen are capable of surviving in the soil for several years and infect the majority of hosts indirectly, i.e., they germinate to produce. Scientists have successfully annotated its genome (Amselem et al, 2011), investigated the fungus at the level of gene expression, and performed proteome-level studies (Yajima and Kav, 2006)

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Discussion

Conclusion