Abstract
RNA-Seq has proven to be a very powerful tool in the analysis of the Plum pox virus (PPV, sharka disease)/Prunus interaction. This technique is an important complementary tool to other means of studying genomics. In this work an analysis of gene expression of resistance/susceptibility to PPV in apricot is performed. RNA-Seq has been applied to analyse the gene expression changes induced by PPV infection in leaves from two full-sib apricot genotypes, “Rojo Pasión” and “Z506-7”, resistant and susceptible to PPV, respectively. Transcriptomic analyses revealed the existence of more than 2,000 genes related to the pathogen response and resistance to PPV in apricot. These results showed that the response to infection by the virus in the susceptible genotype is associated with an induction of genes involved in pathogen resistance such as the allene oxide synthase, S-adenosylmethionine synthetase 2 and the major MLP-like protein 423. Over-expression of the Dicer protein 2a may indicate the suppression of a gene silencing mechanism of the plant by PPV HCPro and P1 PPV proteins. On the other hand, there were 164 genes involved in resistance mechanisms that have been identified in apricot, 49 of which are located in the PPVres region (scaffold 1 positions from 8,050,804 to 8,244,925), which is responsible for PPV resistance in apricot. Among these genes in apricot there are several MATH domain-containing genes, although other genes inside (Pleiotropic drug resistance 9 gene) or outside (CAP, Cysteine-rich secretory proteins, Antigen 5 and Pathogenesis-related 1 protein; and LEA, Late embryogenesis abundant protein) PPVres region could also be involved in the resistance.
Highlights
IntroductionA disease caused by the Plum pox virus (PPV), which belongs to the Potyvirus genus within the family Potyviridae, is the most important disease affecting temperate fruit species including apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) (see recent reviews García et al [1] and ClementeMoreno et al [2])
Sharka, a disease caused by the Plum pox virus (PPV), which belongs to the Potyvirus genus within the family Potyviridae, is the most important disease affecting temperate fruit species including apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)
These results showed that the response to infection by the virus in the susceptible genotype is associated with an induction of genes involved in pathogen resistance such as the allene oxide synthase, S-adenosylmethionine synthetase 2 and the major MLP-like protein 423
Summary
A disease caused by the Plum pox virus (PPV), which belongs to the Potyvirus genus within the family Potyviridae, is the most important disease affecting temperate fruit species including apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) (see recent reviews García et al [1] and ClementeMoreno et al [2]). The use of genetic resistance sources offers the only definitive solution for the control of sharka Some of these natural sources of resistance to PPV in apricot were first identified in North America [3] and since have been widely exploited in breeding programmes [4,5]. In 2007, Rubio et al [8] analysed several of these propositions in apricot, but none fully fit the phenotypic segregation of the populations studied by these authors. These results reflect the difficulty of establishing accurate genetic control of resistance to PPV
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