Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of maize cell heterogeneity and systemic immune responses against Puccinia polysora Underw.

ABSTRACT: Southern corn rust (SCR), caused by Puccinia polysora Underw (P. polysora), is a catastrophic disease affecting maize, leading to significant global yield losses. The disease manifests primarily as pustules on the upper surface of corn leaves, obscuring our understanding of its cellular heterogeneity, the maize's response to its infection and the underlying gene expression regulatory mechanisms. In this study, we dissected the heterogeneity of maize's response to P. polysora infection using single-cell RNA sequencing. We delineated cell-type-specific gene expression alterations in six leaf cell types, creating the inaugural single-cell atlas of a maize leaf under fungal assault. Crucially, by reconstructing cellular trajectories in susceptible line N110 and resistant line R99 during infect

SUBMITTER: Yan XC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11772323 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature