Abstract
BackgroundPlant breeding for resistance to agricultural pests is an essential element in the development of integrated crop management systems; however, the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying resistance are poorly understood. In this pilot study, a transcriptomic analysis of a resistant (R) vs. a susceptible (S) variety of alfalfa, with (+T) or without (−T) thrips (= 4 treatments) was conducted, ‘GN-1’ (China) was defined as the resistant cultivar, and ‘WL323’ (America) was defined as the susceptible cultivar.ResultsA total of 970 mRNAs were differentially expressed, of which 129 up- and 191 down-regulated genes were identified in the R + T/R-T plants, while 413 up- and 237 down-regulated genes were identified in the S + T/S-T plants. KEGG analysis mapped 33 and 80 differentially expressed genes to 11 and 14 substantially enriched pathways for GN-1 and WL323, respectively. Five shared pathways were linked to plant resistance traits, including beta-Alanine metabolism, fatty acid degradation, chloroalkane and chloroalkene degradation, flavonoid biosynthesis, and phenylalanine metabolism.ConclusionsResults indicated both thrips resistant and susceptible alfalfa cultivars can regulate gene expression in the salicylic acid (SA) and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways to induce defensive genes and protein expression (e.g. polyphenol oxidase, protease inhibitor), which enhances plant defence capacity.
Highlights
Plant breeding for resistance to agricultural pests is an essential element in the development of integrated crop management systems; the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying resistance are poorly understood
The number of Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) found in WL323 was ~ 2 times greater than in Gongnong 1 (GN-1), indicated that cellular metabolic activity in the susceptible cultivar was more active than in the resistant cultivar
When attacked by thrips, the resistant cultivar increased synthesis of linoleic acid and alpha-Linolenic acid as parts of the defence response to thrips feeding, but the susceptible cultivar did not show this up-regulation response (Table 3). These results showed that the immune response after thrips infestation was higher in the resistant cultivar than in the susceptible cultivar
Summary
Plant breeding for resistance to agricultural pests is an essential element in the development of integrated crop management systems; the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying resistance are poorly understood. In this pilot study, a transcriptomic analysis of a resistant (R) vs a susceptible (S) variety of alfalfa, with (+T) or without (−T) thrips (= 4 treatments) was conducted, ‘GN-1’ (China) was defined as the resistant cultivar, and ‘WL323’ (America) was defined as the susceptible cultivar. The molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying resistance are poorly understood In this preliminary study, a transcriptomic study of thrips-resistant vs thrips-susceptible alfalfa varieties was conducted to understand the molecular and genetic factors involved in plant resistance to an insect pest. A transcriptomic study of thrips-resistant vs. thrips-susceptible alfalfa varieties was conducted to understand the molecular and genetic factors involved in plant resistance to an insect pest.
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