Abstract
Vernicia fordii (tung oil tree) is famous in the world for its production of tung oil. Unfortunately, it was infected by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fordii 1 (Fof-1) and suffered serious wilt disease. Conversely, its sister species V. montana is highly resistant to Fof-1. The MYB (v-myb myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog) transcription factors were activated during the pathogen Fof-1 infection according to our previous comparative transcriptomic results. Depending on whether the sequence has a complete MYB-DNA-binding domain, a total of 75 VfMYB and 77 VmMYB genes were identified in susceptible V. fordii and resistant V. montana, respectively. In addition, we detected 49 pairs of one-to-one orthologous Vf/VmMYB genes with the reciprocal-best BLAST-hits (RBH)method. In order to investigate the expression modes and the internal network of MYB transcription factors in the two species responding to Fusarium wilt disease, the expressions of Vf/VmMYBs were then investigated and we found that most orthologous Vf/VmMYB genes exhibited similar expression patterns during the Fof-1 infection. However, four pairs of Vf/VmMYB genes, annotated as unknown proteins and mediator of root architecture, demonstrated absolute opposite expression patterns in the two Vernicia species responding to Fof-1. The interaction network of VmMYB genes were further constructed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) method and four hub genes showing extremely high interaction with the other 1157 genes were identified. RT-qPCR result verified the opposite expression pattern of the hub gene VmMYB011 and VmMYB041 in two Vernicia species. In summary, co-expression network of the Vf/VmMYBs and significantly opposite related pairs of genes in resistant and susceptible Vernicia species provided knowledge for understanding the molecular basis of Vernicia responding to Fusarium wilt disease.
Highlights
Tung trees (Vernicia) are world-famous woody non-edible oil plants that play an important role in industry, biology, energy, medicine and ecological environment
In order to investigate the expression modes and the internal network of MYB transcription factors in the two species responding to Fusarium wilt disease, the expressions of Vf/VmMYBs were investigated and we found that most orthologous Vf/VmMYB genes exhibited similar expression patterns during the Fof -1 infection
To explore the MYB transcription factors involved in Fusarium wilt resistance in Vernicia species, we respectively identified 171 and 177 candidate genes of the MYB superfamily in V. fordii and V
Summary
Tung trees (Vernicia) are world-famous woody non-edible oil plants that play an important role in industry, biology, energy, medicine and ecological environment. Tung oil, extracted from the fruit of the tung tree, contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. It is a very good biomass fuel oil and excellent drying plant oil, widely used in paints, plastics, artificial rubber, inks, lubricants and biodiesel [1]. As the seed of V. fordii displays higher yield and better quality, it has become the main raw material of tung oil industry. The V. fordii is susceptible to the Fusarium wilt disease, which has caused greatly adverse effects on its growth and yield. The V. montana was found to be extremely resistant to Fusarium wilt disease despite its relatively lower oil production and quality [2]. The V. montana has become a crucial material for the study of plant disease resistance
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