Abstract
Botrytis elliptica, the causal agent of gray mold disease, poses a major threat to commercial Lilium production, limiting its ornamental value and yield. The molecular and metabolic regulation mechanisms of Lilium's defense response to B. elliptica infection have not been completely elucidated. Here, we performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of B. elliptica resistant Lilium oriental hybrid “Sorbonne” to understand the molecular basis of gray mold disease resistance in gray mold disease. A total of 115 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected by comparing the different temporal stages of pathogen infection. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and DAMs were enriched in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways at all stages of infection, demonstrating the prominence of these pathways in the defense response of “Sorbonne” to B. elliptica. Network analysis revealed high interconnectivity of the induced defense response. Furthermore, time-course analysis of the transcriptome and a weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) led to the identification of a number of hub genes at different stages, revealing that jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), brassinolide (BR), and calcium ions (Ca2+) play a crucial role in the response of “Sorbonne” to fungal infection. Our work provides a comprehensive perspective on the defense response of Lilium to B. elliptica infection, along with a potential transcriptional regulatory network underlying the defense response, thereby offering gene candidates for resistance breeding and metabolic engineering of Lilium.
Highlights
Lilium is one of the most economically important genera of ornamental monocots, whose species are used worldwide as cut flowers, garden plants, and potted plants
FLS and F3′H are responsible for the synthesis of kaempferol and quercetin, and were recently shown to be critical for disease resistance in plants (Zhang et al, 2016). These findings suggest the possibility that kaempferol and eriodictyol are the main metabolites of the flavonoid pathway that shape the response of Lilium to B. elliptica infection, and their levels are affected by a series of enzymes such as chalcone synthase (CHS), F3H, and FLS
We used a non-targeted metabolomic analysis complemented by Nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) to understand the defense response of Lilium hybrid “Sorbonne” to B. elliptica infection
Summary
Lilium is one of the most economically important genera of ornamental monocots, whose species are used worldwide as cut flowers, garden plants, and potted plants. Both the ornamental value and yield of commercial Lilium are often restricted by gray mold (Cui et al, 2018b). Lilium is highly susceptible to gray mold disease, and its effect is compounded by high humidity and low temperature (Hsieh et al, 2001). Known as leaf blight disease, is caused by the necrotrophic pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Botrytis elliptica. Development of disease resistant Lilium cultivars is currently the most economical and effective way to prevent gray mold disease incidence and spread. Understanding the defense mechanism of Lilium against B. elliptica will help accelerate the process of breeding gray mold resistance traits in Lilium (Peng et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2020)
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