Abstract
BackgroundThe green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sülzer), is a widespread phloem-feeding insect that significantly influences the yield and visual quality of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. Single dominant gene (Rm3)-based resistance provides effective management of this invasive pest, although little is known about the molecular responses of plants to GPA feeding.ResultsTo illustrate the molecular mechanisms of monogenic resistance in peach to young tissue-infecting GPAs, aphid-resistant/aphid-susceptible peach lines from a segregating population with Rm3/rm3 and rm3/rm3 genotypes were infested with GPAs for 3 to 72 h. Transcriptome analysis of the infested tissues identified 3854 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Although the majority of the DEGs in the resistant line also responded to aphid attack in the susceptible line, the overall magnitude of change was greater in the resistant line than in the susceptible line. The enriched gene ontology of the 3854 DEGs involved in plant defence responses included redox situation, calcium-mediated signalling, transcription factor (e.g., WRKY, MYB, and ERF), MAPK signalling cascade, phytohormone signalling, pathogenesis-related protein, and secondary metabolite terms. Of the 53 genes annotated in a 460 kb interval of the rm3 locus, seven genes were differentially expressed between the aphid-resistant and aphid-susceptible peach lines following aphid infestation.ConclusionsTogether, these results suggest that the Rm3-dependent resistance relies mainly on the inducible expression of defence-related pathways and signalling elements within hours after the initiation of aphid feeding and that the production of specific secondary metabolites from phenylpropanoid/flavonoid pathways can have major effects on peach-aphid interactions.
Highlights
The green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sülzer), is a widespread phloem-feeding insect that significantly influences the yield and visual quality of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]
The present study aimed to investigate the global responses of peach to GPA infestation and identify the genes associated with these resistance responses by comparing the differential gene expression of Rm3-type resistant (Rm3/rm3) and susceptible peach lines with RNA sequencing-based gene expression profiling analysis
Hypersensitive-like necrotic reactions, an indicator of the presence or absence of Rm3-controlled GPA resistance, did not appear in the tender stems of either genotype during the first 2 days and occurred in R36; these reactions were absent in susceptible plants throughout the experiment (Fig. 1a, c)
Summary
The green peach aphid (GPA), Myzus persicae (Sülzer), is a widespread phloem-feeding insect that significantly influences the yield and visual quality of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch]. The green peach aphid (GPA) (Myzus persicae Sülzer), one of the most generalist aphid species, is capable of feeding on a wide range of food and ornamental crops from over 40 plant families in temperate regions and commonly uses peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, as a primary host in spring [1]. Aphid feeding causes minimal damage to the hosts compared with the feeding of chewing insects. Aphid infestation causes heavy damage to trees due to the penetration of the leaves by the stylet, which is responsible for leaf curling, heavy breakdowns in shoot growth, reduced fruit quality and fruit malformation [3]. Beneficial insects can be negatively affected by the continual usage of chemical insecticides [6]
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