Use of gene family analysis to discover argonaut (AGO) genes for increasing the resistance of Tibetan hull-less barley to leaf stripe disease

Abstract

Leaf stripe is a common, but major infectious disease of barley, severely affecting the yield and quality. However, only a few genes have been identified by conventional gene mapping. Gene family analysis has become a fast and efficient strategy for gene discovery. Studies demonstrated that Argonaute (AGO) proteins play an important role in plant disease resistance. Thus, we obtained nine HvAGO genes via mRNA sequencing before and after a Pyrenophora graminea infection of a disease-resistant variety "Kunlun 14" and a susceptible variety "Z1141". We analysed the physicochemical characteristics, gene structures, and motifs of the HvAGO gene sequences and found that these proteins were divided into four clusters by evolutionary distance. There was high consistency in the number of exons, size, and the number and type of motifs in the different clusters. Based on protein phylogenetics, they could be divided into three branches. A collinearity analysis of Tibetan hull-less barley and Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, and maize showed that four genes were collinear with respect to the other three species. The qRT-PCR showed the expression levels of HvAGO1, HvAGO2 and HvAGO4 were significantly increased after infection with Pyrenophora graminea. These three members of the AGO gene family are, thus, speculated to play an important role in barley leaf stripe resistance. The results provide reference for the application of HvAGO genes in the leaf stripe control and the exploration of disease resistance genes in other crops.