WITHDRAWN: Expression of the Arabidopsis SWEET genes during rice false smut infection in the transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana containing increased levels of ATP and sucrose

Abstract

Ustilaginoidea virens is a causal agent of rice false smut disease which hampers the global rice production. This pathogen is able to continually reach into the central vascular tissues and is able to hijack nutrients from the host plants. It is known that during the later stage of U. virens colonization, the floral region particularly the basal area which is having conducive micro-environment in terms of nutrients and moisture content witnessed the presence of a dense mass of mycelia. Nevertheless, the mechanism which underlies U. virens infection in relation to sugar transport is not well established using a molecular approach. Here, we analyzed contents of sugar that are present in leaves pre and post U. virens infection using a transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana leaves containing increased levels of ATP and sucrose. Glucose and sucrose contents in the leaves of the transgenic Arabidopsis lines were significantly increased compared to WT after U. virens infection, suggesting that U. virens growth and translocation of sugar are directly linked. From the four A. thaliana SWEET genes tested, two AtSWEETs which belong to Clade III were up-regulated significantly upon U. virens infection particularly in the OE7 transgenic line. Our studies suggest that active sugar translocation between the sugar producing tissues probably was triggered by U. virens infection, and the identified SWEET family genes are directly involved in facilitating this process.