Analysis of the grape (Vitis vinifera L.) thaumatin-like protein (TLP) gene family and demonstration that TLP29 contributes to disease resistance

Xiaoxiao Yan,Xiuming Zhang,Chunlei Guo,Yuejin Wang,Mengnan Wang,Xiping Wang,Hengbo Qiao

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-04105-w

Xiaoxiao Yan, Xiuming Zhang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04105-w

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Abstract

Thaumatin-like protein (TLP) is present as a large family in plants, and individual members play different roles in various responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here we studied the role of 33 putative grape (Vitis vinifera L.) TLP genes (VvTLP) in grape disease resistance. Heat maps analysis compared the expression profiles of 33 genes in disease resistant and susceptible grape species infected with anthracnose (Elsinoe ampelina), powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) or Botrytis cinerea. Among these 33 genes, the expression level of TLP29 increased following the three pathogens inoculations, and its homolog from the disease resistant Chinese wild grape V. quinquangularis cv. ‘Shang-24’, was focused for functional studies. Over-expression of TLP29 from grape ‘Shang-24’ (VqTLP29) in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced its resistance to powdery mildew and the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, but decreased resistance to B. cinerea. Moreover, the stomatal closure immunity response to pathogen associated molecular patterns was strengthened in the transgenic lines. A comparison of the expression profiles of various resistance-related genes after infection with different pathogens indicated that VqTLP29 may be involved in the salicylic acid and jasmonic acid/ethylene signaling pathways.

Highlights

Thaumatin-like protein (TLP) proteins are functionally diverse, with proteins from the PR5 subgroup being known for their involvement in biotic and abiotic stress responses[6], while some TLP genes have been shown to participate in cold, salt and drought stress responses[7,8,9]
A sequence alignment revealed a 9 amino acids difference between the proteins encoded by VvTLP4 and VVTL3 in one literature[25], since two genes have been assigned to the same chromosomal position, it is likely that they correspond to a single gene
The TLP family has been extensively studied in animals and fungi[43] and some TLP genes in plants are known to be involved in defense against pathogens[10,11,12, 17]

Summary

Introduction

TLP proteins are functionally diverse, with proteins from the PR5 subgroup being known for their involvement in biotic and abiotic stress responses[6], while some TLP genes have been shown to participate in cold, salt and drought stress responses[7,8,9]. It has been shown that the expression of grape TLP genes increased after E. ampelina inoculation, as does the expression of genes encoding a range of antimicrobial proteins, including chitinase and β-1,3 glucanase[20], PR1/PR1a21, stilbene and chalcone synthase[22], polygalacturonase-inhibitor proteins[23] and lipid-transfer proteins[24]. In the current study we extended these earlier studies and more broadly investigated the regulation and potential functions of the grape TLP (VvTLP) gene family by evaluating the expression patterns of the different genes in response to different pathogen treatments. These results together with a functional analysis of one TLP genes, VqTLP29, demonstrated that the grape TLP family is involved in pathogen resistance

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