Pathogenicity‐related long non‐coding natural antisense transcripts in Verticillium dahliae during infections in cotton

Abstract

AbstractLong non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non‐coding RNAs with a length of more than 200 nucleotides. LncRNAs are functional factors involved in various biological processes at the transcriptional, post‐transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, which have been widely studied in animals and plants, but less in fungi. In our previous research, 352 Verticillium dahliae lncRNAs were identified by high‐throughput sequencing, and pathogenicity‐related lncRNAs were determined by their differential expression during infections on host plants of cotton. It is known that a long non‐coding natural antisense transcript (lncNAT) transcribed from the antisense strand of a gene, mainly plays cis‐regulatory functions. Thus, in this study, V. dahliae lncNATs and their function were further analysed based on our previous research of V. dahliae lncRNAs. In total, 116 of 352 lncRNAs were identified as lncNATs, and the function of their associated genes that are mainly enriched in transcriptional regulation was assessed. Moreover, 12 lncNATs were significantly differentially expressed during infection in cotton, and their associated genes are involved in its pathogenicity. In addition, the expression pattern between lncNAT010781 and lncNAT005061 and their associated genes were detected. Both lncNATs and their associated genes were up‐regulated during the inoculation of cotton. Overexpression of lncNAT005061 enhanced the virulence of Vd991 on cotton. In conclusion, these results suggest that V. dahliae lncNATs play a pathogenic role when cotton host plants are infected, which will provide new targets for analysing the virulence regulatory network in V. dahliae.