Project description:Apple is one of the most important fruits that is propagated vegetatively, facilitating frequent transmission of viruses. The causative agent of the apple rubbery wood disease, apple rubbery wood virus 2 (ARWV2), can infect apple and pear. The branches of ARWV2-infected, symptomatic trees are flexible due to the decreased lignification of the xylem. In this research, we reanalysed our sRNA HTS datasets to survey the presence of ARWV2 in Hungary. Validation of HTS using RT-PCR revealed infection in several cultivars. The following RT-PCR-based survey revealed the infection of 15 trees, including pear and quince, without showing any rubbery wood symptoms. Analysis of the sRNA datasets allowed us to profile the sRNA pattern of ARWV2-infected and non-infected trees, and characterise the differential expression pattern of vsiRNAs and miRNAs targeting the lignin biosynthetic pathway. The results confirmed that neither the symptoms nor the gene-expression changes in the ARWV2-infected trees can be directly correlated with the presence of the virus, which can explain its frequent latent presence. Its variable concentration, sequence, and the mixed-infection status of the trees, make difficult its reliable diagnostics, which, although it would be highly needed, could be achieved as a result of further research.
Project description:miRNAs were important regulators involving in plant-pathogen interactions. However, their roles in apple response to Valsa canker pathogen (Valsa mali, Vm) infection were poorly understood. In this study, we constructed two miRNA libraries using the bark tissues of apple twig (Malus domestica Borkh “Fuji”) inoculated with Vm (IVm) and PDA medium (control, BMd). Among the all miRNAs, 23 miRNAs were specifically isolated in BMd and 39 miRNAs were specifically isolated in IVm. Compared with BMd, the expression of 294 miRNAs decreased, and 172 miRNAs increased in IVm, respectively. We also identified the target genes of these miRNAs using degradome sequencing technology. In total, 353 differentially expressed miRNAs during the pathogen infection were detected to target 1 077 unigenes with 2 251 cleavage sites. Based on GO and KEGG analysis, the genes were found to be mainly related to transcription regulation and signal transduction. We further selected 17 miRNAs and 22 corresponding target genes to detect the expression profiles during pathogen infection. The results indicate that most of them are involved in apple twig-Vm interaction. What’s more, miRNAs and their corresponding target genes seem to regulate the apple twig-Vm interaction by forming many complicated regulation networks. It is worth that a conserved miRNAs mdm-miR482b, which was down regulated in IVm compared with BMd, has 14 potential target genes, and most of them were disease resistance related genes. More important, the feedback regulation of sRNA pathway in apple twig was much more complex and critical in the interaction between apple bark tissue and V. mali. The results provide insights into the crucial functions of miRNAs in the woody plant, apple tree-Vm interaction.