Transcriptome analysis of postharvest grapes in response to Talaromyces rugulosus O1 infection

Abstract

Grapes are high nutritional and economic fruit but extremely vulnerable to fungus infections during postharvest storage. Our previous study found that the fungi, Talaromyces rugulosus O1 secretes ochratoxin A (OTA), which inflicts consumer health and economic value. This study found that T. rugulosus O1 has strong pathogenicity and spore germination to produce germ tubes to help it infect grapes. To better understand the molecular interaction between T. rugulosus O1 and grape, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed, and 5037 genes were identified as differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in grapes after T. rugulosus O1 infection. RNA-seq analysis revealed that T. rugulosus O1 infection, induced complex defense reactions in grapes, including an influx of Ca2+, oxidative burst, changes in GSH, plant hormone signal transduction, transcription factor regulation, overexpression of protein kinases, and biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites. Our study found that the activity of the resistance enzymes in grapes was increased after T. rugulosus O1 infection, which is consistent with the RNA-seq results. Moreover, the accumulation of some antifungal compounds, including flavonoids, phenols, and lignin in grapes, increased grapes' antifungal ability.