ABSTRACT: Transposons played a major role in the diversification between the closely related almond (Prunus dulcis) and peach (P. persica) genomes: Results from the almond genome sequence.
Project description:Transposons played a major role in the diversification between the closely related almond (Prunus dulcis) and peach (P. persica) genomes: Results from the almond genome sequence
Project description:Plum pox virus (PPV) causes the serious sharka disease in Prunus trees. Peach [P. persica (L.) Batsch] trees are severely affected by PPV and no definitive source of genetic resistance has been identified at this moment. Previous results showed, however, that PPV-resistant ‘Garrigues’ almond [P. dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] was able to transfer its resistance to ‘GF305’ peach through grafting, preventing these trees from PPV infection and reducing symptomatology and viral load in PPV-infected plants. A recent study tried to identify genes responsible for this effect by studying mRNA expression through RNAseq data in peach and almond plants, before and after grafting, and before and after PPV infection. In this work, we used the same peach and almond samples, but focused the high-throughput analyses on small RNAs (sRNAs) expression. We studied massive sequencing data and found an interesting pattern of sRNAs overexpression linked to antiviral defense genes that suggested activation of these genes followed by downregulation to basal levels. We also discovered that ‘Garrigues’ almond plants were infected by different plant viruses that were transferred to peach plants. The large amounts of viral sRNAs found in grafted peaches indicated a strong RNA silencing antiviral response and led us to postulate that these plant viruses could be collaborating by cross-protection in the observed ‘Garrigues’ effect.
Project description:We analysed the DNA methylation and transcription levels of transposable elements and genes in leaves of Prunus persica and Prunus dulcis and in their F1 hybrid using high-throughput sequencing tecnhologies. We can conclude that the merging of the two parental genomes in the P. persica x P. dulcis hybrid does not result in a “genomic shock” with significant changes in the DNA methylation or in the transcription.
Project description:Using whole genome bisulfite sequencing to provide single-base resulution of DNA methylation status in peach fruits (Prunus persica) in six different stages.
Project description:Identification of putative markers of noninfectious bud failure in almond (Prunus dulcis [Mill] D.A. Webb) through genome wide DNA methylation profiling and gene expression analysis in an almond x peach hybrid population
Project description:Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogenic bacterium that has been introduced in the European Union (EU), threatening the agricultural economy of relevant Mediterranean crops such as almond (Prunus dulcis). Plant defense elicitor peptides would be promising to manage diseases such as almond leaf scorch but their effect on the host has not been fully studied. In this work, the response of almond plants to the defense elicitor peptide flg22-NH2 was studied in-depth using RNA-seq, confirming the activation of the salicylic acid and abscisic acid pathways. Marker genes related to the response triggered by flg22-NH2 were used to study the effect of the application strategy of the peptide on almond plants and to depict its time course. The application of flg22-NH2 by endotherapy triggered the highest number of upregulated genes, especially at 6 hours after the treatment. A library of peptides that include BP100-flg15, HpaG23, FV7, RIJK2, PIP-1, Pep13, BP16-Pep13, flg15-BP100 and BP16 triggered a stronger defense response in almond plants than flg22-NH2. The best candidate, FV7, when applied by endotherapy on almond plants inoculated with X. fastidiosa, significantly reduced levels of the pathogen and decreased disease symptoms. Therefore, these novel plant defense elicitors are suitable candidates to manage diseases caused by X. fastidiosa, in particular almond leaf scorch.