Transcriptome characteristics and the expression profiles of resistance-related genes in healthy and Mycocentrospora acerina-infected Asarum sp. leaves treated with Penicillium janthinellum F1-6

Abstract

ABSTRACT Leaf blight is a primary disease that affects the medicinal plants Asarum spp. Although the disease is widespread and severe, its biological control has not been reported. In the present study, we aimed to determine the leaf blight-control effect of the fungus Penicillium janthinellum F1-6 exerts in Asarum sp. The changes in the expression of key genes related to induced resistance by P. janthinellum F1-6 inoculation in healthy and infected leaves were investigated by RNA-sequencing. 3390 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in F1-6 pre-inoculation (healthy) leaves, and 1902 DEGs were found in F1-6 post-inoculation (infected) leaves. The pathway–pathway network analysis showed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant-pathogen interaction, and plant-hormone signal transduction pathways were the most enriched pathways by DEGs in both healthy and infected leaves inoculated with the F1-6 strain. Furthermore, DEGs encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase were more enriched in healthy leaves, whereas DEGs related to leucine-rich repeats receptor-like serine and nucleotide-binding adaptor shared by Apaf-1, resistance proteins, and CED-4 domain were mainly enriched in infected leaves. DEGs encoding peroxidase, basic-leucine zipper, calcium-dependent protein kinase, and pathogenesis-related protein PRB1-3-like were recognised as the common genes between healthy and infected leaves. These findings provide a basis to understand the biocontrol mechanism of P. janthinellum F1-6 against Asarum sp. leaf blight.