Xoo Races Research Articles

Pathogenicity structure of the Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae population causing rice bacterial blight in Vietnam

The rice bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) bacteria is rice’s most destructive disease. Due to the potential biomagnification caused by bactericides, deploying host resistance is the most effective method to protect the rice harvest. Studying the pathogenicity structure of the Xoo population helps propose the best breeding strategies to use the resistance gene pool. Among 12 resistance genes validated, xa5 and Xa21 maintained their efficacy against the Xoo population in Vietnam. Other genes, including Xa7 and xa13, remained effective in certain regions. The most destructive Xoo races distribute in the South, where intensive rice production was practiced. The same Xoo races found in different ecological regions illustrated the pathogen migration between adjacent areas. This manuscript proposed a designation system that converts the response of the differential set to each Xoo isolate into a binary, then into an octal system to name Xoo races appropriately.

Chromosomal Location of xa19, a Broad-Spectrum Rice Bacterial Blight Resistant Gene from XM5, a Mutant Line from IR24.

Bacterial blight is an important rice disease caused by bacteria named Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). XM5 is an Xoo resistant mutant line with the genetic background of IR24, an Indica Xoo susceptible cultivar, induced by a chemical mutagen N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). XM5 carries a recessive Xoo resistant gene, xa19. Trisomic analysis was conducted using the cross between XM5 and the trisomic series under the genetic background of IR24, showing that xa19 was located on chromosome 7. The approximate chromosomal location was found using 37 surely resistant plants in the F2 population from XM5 × Kinmaze, which was susceptible to most Japanese Xoo races. The IAS44 line carries a Japonica cultivar Asominori chromosomal segment covering the xa19 locus under the IR24 genetic background. Linkage analysis using the F2 population from the cross between XM5 and IAS44 revealed that xa19 was located within the 0.8 cM region between RM8262 and RM6728. xa19 is not allelic to the known Xoo resistant genes. However, its location suggests that it might be allelic to a lesion-mimic mutant gene spl5, some alleles of which are resistant to several Xoo races. Together with xa20 and xa42, three Xoo resistant genes were induced from IR24 by MNU. The significance of chemical mutagen as a source of Xoo resistance was discussed.

Characterization of senegalese races of Xanthomonas oryzae PV. oryzae to identify resistance genes to use

Bacterial blight (BB), is a disease caused by Xanthomonas oryzae PV. oryzae (Xoo), was first reported in Senegal by Trinh in 1980. BB represents a severe threat to rice cultivation in West Africa. Characterizing the pathotypic diversity of bacterial populations is a key to the management of pathogen-resistant varieties. Pathogenicity tests show that all strains are virulent on the susceptible rice variety Azucena, and interact differentially with twelve near-isogenic rice lines, each carrying a single resistance gene. On this rice panel, six races were identified, two of which were previously reported in Mali (A3) and Burkina Faso (A1). Four races (S2, S4, S5, and S6) are described for the first time in Africa. Races A1, isolated in Ndiaye and Ndioum areas is the most prevalent in Senegal. The Xa1 gene controls 100% of the isolates tested and xa5 controls all isolates except S4 strains. The geographical distribution of Xoo races is contrasted. Four races are detected in the North and two in the South East of the country. Race S4 can be a major risk to rice cultivation because strains from this race are the most virulent and can only be controlled by Xa1. To identify local sources of resistance, we screened Xoo strains representative of the various races on twenty-three rice varieties grown by farmers in Senegal. Four rice varieties namely Sahel210, Sangangbye, Dansna2, and Sahel305 effectively control all the isolates tested. Our characterization of the first collection of Senegalese Xoo strains provided insight into the races present in the country and identified sources of resistance in local rice varieties. This information will help design effective breeding programs for resistance to bacterial leaf blight in Senegal.

QTL Analysis Revealed One Major Genetic Factor Inhibiting Lesion Elongation by Bacterial Blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) from a japonica Cultivar Koshihikari in Rice.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a pathogen that has ravaged the rice industry as the causal agent of bacterial blight (BB) diseases in rice. Koshihikari (KO), an elite japonica cultivar, and ARC7013 (AR), an indica cultivar, are both susceptible to Xoo. Their phenotypic characteristics reveal that KO has shorter lesion length than that of AR. The F2 population from KO × AR results in continuous distribution of lesion length by inoculation of an Xoo race (T7147). Consequently, quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of the F2 population is conducted, covering 12 chromosomes with 107 simple sequence repeat (SSR) and insertion/deletion (InDel) genetic markers. Three QTLs are identified on chromosomes 2, 5, and 10. Of them, qXAR5 has the strongest resistance variance effect of 20.5%, whereas qXAR2 and qXAR10 have minor QTL effects on resistance variance, with 3.9% and 2.3%, respectively, for a total resistance variance of 26.7%. The QTLs we examine for this study differ from the loci of BB resistance genes from earlier studies. Our results can help to facilitate understanding of genetic and morphological fundamentals for use in rice breeding programs that are more durable against evolving Xoo pathogens and uncertain climatic temperature.

Genotypic and phenotypic dissection of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae on Indica rice cultivars for bacterial blight resistance

Aim: To evaluate the level of virulence of different Xoo isolates/ pathotypes of Eastern and North-eastern India and to identify the suitable donors in rice cultivars having various R-gene combination against virulent Xoo races of Bacterial Blight disease of rice. Methodology: Thirty six Xoo isolates were collected from different places of Eastern and North-eastern India and genetic diversity/ similarity was examined by genotyping of pathotypes using JEL1/JEL2 markers. The 34 Indica rice cultivars carrying different R-gene combination were selected and grown in net house and inoculated artificially with Xoo inoculants from these races/ isolates bacterial of blight disease. Results: The selected 36 Xoo isolates of Eastern and North-eastern India were grouped into seven different isolates/ races based on their genetic diversity using JEL1/JEL2 markers. Among 34 Indica rice cultivars, three or more R-gene combination (xa5 + xa13 + Xa21 and/or Xa4 + xa5 + xa13 + Xa21) cultivars exhibited highly resistant as compared to cultivars with single and double gene combination cultivars against most of the Xoo isolates/ races. Interpretation: The cultivars may determine different level of resistance due to complementary effect of inheritance of suitable R-gene combination. Identified donors may be used for rice resistance breeding programme for Eastern and North-eastern India.

Genome-wide association study and transcriptome analysis discover new genes for bacterial leaf blight resistance in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

BackgroundRice (Oryza sativa) bacterial leaf blight (BLB), caused by the hemibiotrophic Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is one of the most devastating diseases affecting the production of rice worldwide. The development and use of resistant rice varieties or genes is currently the most effective strategy to control BLB.ResultsHere, we used 259 rice accessions, which are genotyped with 2 888 332 high-confidence single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Combining resistance variation data of 259 rice lines for two Xoo races observed in 2 years, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring plant resistance against BLB. The expression levels of genes, which contains in GWAS results were also identified between the resistant and susceptible rice lines by transcriptome analysis at four time points after pathogen inoculation. From that 109 candidate resistance genes showing significant differential expression between resistant and susceptible rice lines were uncovered. Furthermore, the haplotype block structure analysis predicted 58 candidate genes for BLB resistance based on Chr. 7_707158 with a minimum P-value (–log 10 P = 9.72). Among them, two NLR protein-encoding genes, LOC_Os07g02560 and LOC_Os07g02570, exhibited significantly high expression in the resistant line, but had low expression in the susceptible line of rice.ConclusionsTogether, our results reveal novel BLB resistance gene resources, and provide important genetic basis for BLB resistance breeding of rice crops.

Reciprocal adaptation of rice and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae: cross-species 2D GWAS reveals the underlying genetics.

A 1D/2D genome-wide association study strategy was adopted to investigate the genetic systems underlying the reciprocal adaptation of rice (Oryza sativa) and its bacterial pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) using the whole-genome sequencing and large-scale phenotyping data of 701 rice accessions and 23 diverse Xoo strains. Forty-seven Xoo virulence-related genes and 318 rice quantitative resistance genes (QR-genes) mainly located in 41 genomic regions, and genome-wide interactions between the detected virulence-related genes and QR genes were identified, including well-known resistance genes/virulence genes plus many previously uncharacterized ones. The relationship between rice and Xoo was characterized by strong differentiation among Xoo races corresponding to the subspecific differentiation of rice, by strong shifts toward increased resistance/virulence of rice/Xoo populations and by rich genetic diversity at the detected rice QR-genes and Xoo virulence genes, and by genome-wide interactions between many rice QR-genes and Xoo virulence genes in a multiple-to-multiple manner, presumably resulting either from direct protein–protein interactions or from genetic epistasis. The observed complex genetic interaction system between rice and Xoo likely exists in other crop–pathogen systems that would maintain high levels of diversity at their QR-loci/virulence-loci, resulting in dynamic coevolutionary consequences during their reciprocal adaptation.

Linkage analysis of rice bacterial blight resistance gene xa20 in XM6, a mutant line from IR24.

Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is an important disease constraining rice (Oryza sativa L.) production worldwide. The XM6 line was induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea from IR24, an Indica cultivar that is susceptible to Philippine and Japanese Xoo races. XM6 was confirmed to carry a recessive gene named xa20, resistant to six Philippine and five Japanese Xoo races. The chromosomal gene location was found using 10 plants with the shortest lesion length in an F2 population consisting of 298 plants from a susceptible Japonica variety Koshihikari × XM6. Analysis using PCR-based DNA markers covering the whole rice genome indicated the gene as located on the distal region of the long arm of chromosome 3. The IKC3 line carries IR24 genetic background with Koshihikari fragment on chromosome 3 where a resistance gene was thought to be located. The F2 population from IKC3 × XM6 clearly showed a bimodal distribution separating resistant and susceptible plants. Further linkage analysis conducted using this F2 population revealed that xa20 is located within the 0.8 cM region flanked by DNA markers KIC3-33.88 (33.0 Mb) and KIC3-34.06 (33.2 Mb). This study yields important findings for resistance breeding and for the genetic mechanism of Xoo resistance.

Virus-induced gene silencing of Xa38 compromises the resistance towards bacterial blight disease of rice

Bacterial blight (BB) is one of the most destructive diseases of rice, caused by the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Several BB resistant genes have been deployed in rice cultivars. One such gene is Xa38, which exhibits resistance against several Indian Xoo races. Since the detailed characterization of Xa38 is still awaited, we have used Virus Induced Gene Silencing, using the rice-specific pRTBV-MVIGS system, to silence Xa38 and study its effect on the symptom development of BB. We find that Xa38 silencing compromises the resistance towards Xoo. Silencing results in increased BB symptoms and enhanced Xoo accumulation.

Advances in the Xoo-rice pathosystem interaction and its exploitation in disease management

Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is one of the devastating diseases of rice worldwide. The pathogen reported to cause 70% crop loss in some of the susceptible genotypes under disease favoring environments, viz., temperature ranging between 25 to 34°C and relative humidity more than 70%. In Xoo, about 245 genes govern the pathogenicity and host specificity. The hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (hrp) genes responsible for disease occurrence were clustered in the pathogenicity island of 31.3 Kb. The protein secreted through type three secretory system and type one secretory system mediates infection and establishment of the pathogen inside the host. However, elicitor molecules from Xoo triggered the resistant response in rice against the pathogen. An array of resistant genes (R genes) was known to be invoked by the host to combat the bacterial infection. To date, of the 45 Xa genes in rice, nine were cloned and characterized. The evolution of new races has made the task of developing resistant rice genotypes more challenging as it demands a comprehensive breeding strategy involving the best use of R genes from the existing gene pool. Thus, to combat the infection from the existing races and to slow down the emergence of new Xoo races, pyramiding two or more R genes was found to be effective against bacterial blight disease. In India, the successfully commercialized example includes the development of rice genotypes, viz., Improved Pusa Basmati- 1, Improved Samba Mahsuri, PR106, Type 3 Basmati, and Mahsuri with selected R genes, viz., xa5, Xa4, xa13 and Xa21 against bacterial blight resistance. This review primarily portray Xoo-rice interactions and provides opportunities for its effective management through sustainable technologies.

Identification of the novel bacterial blight resistance gene Xa46(t) by mapping and expression analysis of the rice mutant H120

Rice bacterial leaf blight is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and produces substantial losses in rice yields. Resistance breeding is an effective method for controlling bacterial leaf blight disease. The mutant line H120 derived from the japonica line Lijiangxintuanheigu is resistant to all Chinese Xoo races. To identify and map the Xoo resistance gene(s) of H120, we examined the association between phenotypic and genotypic variations in two F2 populations derived from crosses between H120/CO39 and H120/IR24. The segregation ratios of F2 progeny consisted with the action of a single dominant resistance gene, which we named Xa46(t). Xa46(t) was mapped between the markers RM26981 and RM26984 within an approximately 65.34-kb region on chromosome 11. The 12 genes predicted within the target region included two candidate genes encoding the serine/threonine-protein kinase Doa (Loc_Os11g37540) and Calmodulin-2/3/5 (Loc_Os11g37550). Differential expression of H120 was analyzed by RNA-seq. Four genes in the Xa46(t) target region were differentially expressed after inoculation with Xoo. Mapping and expression data suggest that Loc_Os11g37540 allele is most likely to be Xa46(t). The sequence comparison of Xa23 allele between H120 and CBB23 indicated that the Xa46(t) gene is not identical to Xa23.

The genetic associations between yield component traits and bacterial leaf blight resistance in rice (O. sativa L.)

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is highly destructive to high-yielding susceptible rice cultivars. In severe epidemics, yield losses up to 75% have been reported. Considerable information on BLB resistant genes is available; however, genetic overlaps between BLB resistant and yield related traits largely remain unclear. Using two sets of backcross introgression inbred lines and one set of recombinant inbred lines, genetic associations between bacterial leaf blight resistance and yield component traits in three Xoo races were analyzed using Single Nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Fifteen quantitative trait loci conferring BLB resistant and 112 QTLs for yield and yield related traits were detected. Among 15 QTLs conferring bacteria leaf blight resistance, 14 QTLs overlapped with 39 QTLs for yield and yield related traits. The total resistance variation explained by additive QTLs (R2) ranged between 5-76% and epistasis QTLs ranged between 1-26%. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with the highest additive effects for BLB resistance were detected at positions os04-17305294 (on chr.4), os05-07310209 (on chr.5), os09-15240130 (on chr.9), os11-28421947 (on chr.11) and os12-25291547(on chr.12). The BLB resistance QTL at position os05-07310209 (on chr.5) overlapped with QTLs for 1000-grain weight, grain number per panicle, days to heading, grain length width ratio and grain yield per plant. The BLB resistance QTL at position os09-15240130 (on chr.9) overlapped with QTLs for grain yield per plant, panicle number, grain width and 1000-grain weight. The BLB resistance QTL at position os12-25291547-(on chr.12) overlapped with QTLs for 1000-grain weight, panicle number, grain yield per plant, filled grain number and grain width. Eleven percent of the 717 plants in this study were resistant to at least two Xoo races and had higher grain yield compared to both recurrent parents. Overlapping regions especially with already cloned genes and epistasis detected in this study offer opportunity to develop rice varieties which combine high yield and resistance to bacteria leaf blight.

WRKY10 transcriptional regulatory cascades in rice are involved in basal defense and Xa1-mediated resistance.

WRKY proteins play essential roles as negative or positive regulators of pathogen defense. This study explored the roles of different OsWRKY proteins in basal defense and Xa1-mediated resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) infection in rice. Assays of disease in OsWRKY10KD and OsWRKY88KD lines following infection with an incompatible Xoo race, which induced Xa1-mediated resistance in wild-type plants, showed that OsWRKY10 and OsWRKY88 were positive regulators of Xa1-mediated resistance. OsWRKY10 also acted as a positive regulator in basal defense by directly or indirectly activating transcription of defense-related genes. OsWRKY10 activated the OsPR1a promoter by binding to specific WRKY binding sites. Two transcriptional regulatory cascades of OsWRKY10 were identified in basal defense and Xa1-mediated resistance. In the first transcriptional regulatory cascade, OsWRKY47 acted downstream of OsWRKY10 whereas OsWRKY51 acted upstream. OsWRKY10 activated OsPR1a in two distinct ways: by binding to its promoter and, at the same time, by indirect activation through OsWRKY47. In the second transcriptional regulatory cascade, OsWRKY47 acted downstream of OsWRKY10, and OsWRKY88 acted upstream. These OsWRKY10 transcriptional regulatory cascades played important roles in basal defense and Xa1-mediated resistance to enable the mounting of a rapid immune response against pathogens.

A novel locus from the wild allotetraploid rice species Oryza latifolia Desv. confers bacterial blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) resistance in rice (O. sativa).

Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a major limiting factor to rice productivity worldwide. Genetic control through the identification of novel sources of bacterial blight resistance and their utilization in resistance breeding remains the most effective and economical strategy to manage the disease. Here we report the identification of a novel locus from the wild Oryza species, Oryza latifolia, conferring a race-specific resistance to Philippine Xoo race 9A (PXO339). The locus was identified from two introgression lines i.e. WH12-2252 and WH12-2256 that segregated from O. latifolia monosomic alien addition lines (MAALs). The discrete segregation ratio of susceptible and resistant phenotypes in the F2 (χ2[3:1] = 0.22 at p>0.05) and F3 (χ2[3:1] = 0.36 at p>0.05) populations indicates that PXO339 resistance in the MAAL-derived introgression lines (MDILs) is controlled by a single, recessive gene. Genotyping of a total of 216 F2, 1130 F3 and 288 F4 plants derived from crossing either of the MDILs with the recurrent parent used to generate the MAALs narrowed the candidate region to a 1,817 kb locus that extends from 10,425 to 12,266 kb in chromosome 12. Putative candidate genes that were identified by data mining and comparative sequence analysis can provide targets for further studies on mapping and cloning of the causal gene for PXO339 resistance in the MDILs. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a genetic locus from the allotetraploid wild rice, O. latifolia conferring race-specific resistance to bacterial blight.

Identification and Expression Pattern Analysis of Bacterial Blight Resistance Genes in Oryza officinalis Wall ex Watt Under Xanthomonas oryzae Pv. oryzae Stress

BackgroundBacterial blight (BB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae Pv. oryzae (Xoo) is one of the most serious diseases of rice worldwide. Oryza officinalis Wall ex Watt, harboring abundant genetic diversity and disease resistance features, are important resources of exploring resistance genes with broad-spectrum resistance to BB. However, the molecular mechanisms and genes of BB resistance in O. officinalis have been rarely explored.ResultsHere, the BB resistance of four different origin O. officinalis populations in Yunnan were identified by seven representative hypervirulent Xoo races, which exhibited different BB resistance among four populations, in which the BB resistance of the Gengma_Lincang population was the strongest. In addition, the pathogenetic ability of seven Xoo races to O. officinalis was different in that the pathogenicity of PXO99 was stronger than that of C5. There were no remarkable differences in leaf microstructures among four O. officinalis populations, revealing the differences in resistance of four O. officinalis to BB are caused by the endogenous resistance genes. Furthermore, our results proved that there were no nine cloned BB resistance genes in four populations but possessed dominant Xa5, dominant Xa13, and recessive xa3/xa26 homologous alleles of xa5, xa13, and Xa3/Xa26 resistance genes. These three homologous genes were isolated and cloned from four populations and named OoXa5, OoXa13, and Ooxa3/xa26. The expression profile revealed that the expression levels of OoXa13 and Ooxa3/xa26 were significantly down-regulated under PXO99 and C5 stress, especially in the Gengma_Lincang population, suggesting the O. officinalis might enhance BB resistance by down-regulating the expression level of OoXa13 and Ooxa3/xa26.ConclusionThe BB resistance genes of O. officinalis had its own characteristics by expression pattern and BLAST analysis of OoXa5, OoXa13, and Ooxa3/xa26, which indicated that there might be new genes or molecular mechanism of BB resistance in O. officinalis. Our studies provided a solid foundation and reference for revealing the molecular mechanism of BB resistance in O. officinalis.

OsbZIP75 positively regulates plant defense against the bacterial leaf blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Basic leucine zipper (bZIP) proteins are involved in various biological processes, including biotic and abiotic stress responses. In response to biotic stress in rice (Oryza sativa L.), the roles of the TGA class of OsbZIP proteins are well-characterized, whereas those of the non-TGA class of OsbZIP proteins remain largely unknown. Here, we analyze the function of OsbZIP75/RF2a in defense against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). The expression of OsbZIP75/RF2a was increased in response to infection with an incompatible Xoo race at 6 h post-inoculation, and rice plants overexpressing OsbZIP75/RF2a showed reduced symptom than wild-type plants upon infection with a compatible Xoo race. Defense related genes, especially OsPR10a, were up-regulated in OsbZIP75OX plants, and OsbZIP75/RF2a activated the OsPR10a promoter in a transient expression assay. Overall, these results indicate that OsbZIP75/RF2a acts as a positive regulator of defense against Xoo.

Haplotype diversity analysis of bacterial leaf blight resistance gene <i>Xa21</i> in rice

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonasoryzaepv. oryzae (Xoo) is a devastative rice disease. Resistance gene Xa21 is known to convey a stable resistance against a broad spectrum of Xoo races. Assessment of Xa21 genetic diversity and defining haplotypes is the initial step towards identification of haplotypes that associate with desired phenotypes. In this study, an alignment of a 2,778 bp coding sequence (CDS) from 1,618 rice accessions revealed 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms and six insertion/deletions (InDel), each with ≥ 5% occurrence among the accessions. A total of 13 confirmed-haplotypes (≥ 1% occurrence) and 113 putative haplotypes (≤ 1 % occurrence) were identified. The 13 confirmed haplotypes were represented by 1,341 rice accessions that deferred at 22 sites belonging to 12 rice subpopulations from 70 countries. The Xa21 CDS has a haplotype diversity of 0.8203, and a nucleotide diversity of 0.15448. Further, the haplotype network shows a high substitution rate between the haplotype pairs of Xa21, with two distinctive clusters created as a result of a 19-bp InDel in CDS. Based on 14 non-synonymous sites identified within the CDS, nine protein-types were identified. Of these three protein-types are truncated owing to a premature stop codon at 180th position of the polypeptide chain due to the said 19-bp InDel in the ectodomain, and represents 45% of the accessions. The ectodomain of XA21 protein is crucial for immune responses, and hence, these haplotypes with truncated proteins could be important in eliciting the function of XA21.

English

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) of rice is one of the most destructive diseases affecting rice fields. Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the causal agent of BLB. Two BLB resistance genes, Xa21 and Xa7, were transferred into the susceptible indica cultivar Bacthom7 (BT7) by using marker-assisted selection with markers pTA248 for Xa21 and ID7 for Xa7. Improved BT7 lines carrying the two resistance genes were inoculated with three isolates of the Xoo from Northern Vietnam and evaluated for agronomic traits. Artificial inoculation of 13 lines with three Xoo races identified nine highly resistant lines with wide-spectrum resistance to Xoo, including D1, D2, D3, D6, D7, D8, D9, D10 and D12. These lines were similar to recurrent parent BT7 with regard to external appearance, yield performance and grain quality. On the basis of agronomic traits and the level of resistance to BLB, two promising lines, D6 and D9 were further selected. These two lines could efficiently contribute to rice production for food security and food safety in northern Vietnam.   Key words: Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, resistance genes, near-isogenic lines, marker-assisted selection (MAS), improved rice lines.&nbsp

Dissection of the genetic architecture of rice resistance toXanthomonas oryzaepv.oryzaeusing a genomewide association study

Bacterial blight, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), usually causes serious rice yield loss in many countries. Rice breeders have used resistance (R) genes to control the disease but many of the resistant cultivars become susceptible few years after releasing. Identification of new R genes to Xoo is one of the main objectives in rice breeding programs. In this study, we used a genomewide association study (GWAS) to analyse the resistance against the Xoo race C1 using the Rice Diversity Panel 1 (RDP1). Disease evaluation of the RDP1 population to C1 indicated that the AUS subgroup conferred a higher level of resistance to C1 than other subgroups. Genomewide association mapping identified 15 QTLs that are distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12. Some of them are located in the regions without known resistance loci or QTLs. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of GWAS on the genetic dissection of rice resistance to Xoo and provided many Xoo resistance-associated SNP markers for rice breeding.

XopR TTSS-effector regulates in planta growth, virulence of Indian strain of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae via suppressing reactive oxygen species production and cell wall-associated rice immune responses during blight induction.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) causing bacterial blight of rice is a global problem in rice production. Phytopathogenic Xanthomonads overpower PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) through secreting effectors via type III secretion system (TTSS). We previously screened the TTSS effector repository of an Indian strain of Xoo (race 4), a predominant strain from north-west India that contains 21 Xop and 18 TALE effectors. Here, we demonstrate that Xoo race 4 employs XopR for in planta colonisation, virulence and for the suppression of cell wall-associated immune responses in its natural host. XopR null mutant (Xoo ΔxopR) produced 2.6-fold less-severe lesion as compared with Xoo wild type. Xoo ΔxopR showed 1.58-fold reduced colonisation compared with wild indicating that XopR is required for maximum colonisation in rice. Xoo ΔxopR produced 3.8-fold more callose deposits compared with wild. Xoo ΔxopR caused significantly higher production of ROS in rice. RT-qPCR expression analysis of immune responsive genes of rice indicated 10- to 43-fold upregulation upon challenged inoculation with Xoo ΔxopR over wild. Altogether, our study revealed that XopR of Indian Xoo strain supports its in planta growth and contributes immensely for successful blight development through suppressing defence related events like reactive oxygen species production, callose deposition and transcript abundance of immune responsive genes during rice::Xoo interaction.