Project description:In maize crops Southern Leaf Blight (SLB) is a severe disease caused by the fungus Bipolaris maydis (Y. Nisik & C. Miyake) leading to several losses in crop production. Unlike in maize, popcorn resistant varieties are not yet commercially available and this trait have been the subject of many popcorn breeding programs. The present study aimed to identify differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) associated with resistance to B. maydis in two contrasting popcorn inbred lines using the comparative proteomic analysis. Forty-day old popcorn plants from resistant and susceptible inbred lines at the V4 growth stage were inoculated with B. maydis by spraying the conidium suspension. At four and ten days after inoculation, the morphological aspects of lesions in leaves were checked and the proteomic analysis was performed. Our results showed that the resistant inbred line exhibited minor foliar lesions in comparison with the SLB-susceptible genotype. In the genotype’s comparison, 644 DAPs were identified at 4 days and 613 at 10 days after B. maydis inoculation. Besides that, in resistant plants were identified DAPs upaccumulated related to response to stress, response to stimulus, photosynthesis, cellular growth, maintenance and detoxification process, which might be involved in plant response against the pathogen. It was identified proteins as salicylic acid-related and nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat that may be responsible to initiate a response to fungus in SBL-resistant inbred line. A differential response was identified in chloroplast proteins that is the main organelle involved in perception of the fungus to initiate a signalizing response. The changes in the proteomic profile in resistant inbred line may be effective in the response under B. maydis infection. This is the first work presenting the proteomic profile alteration under B. maydis inoculation and these findings may be useful for identifying candidate biomarkers in popcorn resistance to B. maydis being relevant for further researches on genetic breeding to develop resistant genotypes.
Project description:The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis is the causal agent of corn smut disease and induces tumor formation during biotrophic growth in its host plant maize. The Usilago maydis genome harbors a homolog to the GATA transcription factors Nit2 and AreA that act as global regulators of nitrogen catabolite repression in filamentous model fungi Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans, respectively. We aimed at resolving the role of the Ustilago maydis Nit2 homolog for the utilization of complex nitrogen sources and pathogenicity.
Project description:Ascochyta blight causes severe losses in field pea production and the search for resistance traits towards the causal agent Didymella pinodes is of particular importance to farmers. Various microsymbionts are reported to shape the plants´ immune response. However, regardless their contribution to resistance, they are hardly included in experimental designs. In this project, the bi-directional effect of the symbionts´ (rhizobia, mycorrhiza) and the leaf proteome/metabolome of two field pea cultivars with varying resistance levels towards D. pinodes is delineated.
Project description:The fungus Exserohilum turcicum is the causal agent of northern corn leaf blight, a damaging maize (Zea mays) disease worldwide. Here, using an alternative splicing (AS) reporter system, we identified the secreted protein EtEC81 (Exserohilum turcicum effector 81), which modulates the AS of maize pre-mRNAs and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of E. turcicum. EtEC81 physically interacts with EtEC81-interactiNG protein 1 (ZmEIP1), which associates with maize spliceosome components, regulating AS and positively regulating the defense response against E. turcicum. EtEC81 binding further enhanced the effect of ZmEIP1 on AS.
Project description:Ustilago maydis, the causal agent of corn smut disease, is a dimorphic fungus alternating between a saprobic haploid budding form, and an obligate pathogenic filamentous dikaryon. Maize responds to U. maydis colonization by producing highly modified tumorous structures and it is only within these plant galls that the fungus sporulates giving rise to melanized sexual spores, the teliospores. Previously we identified a regulatory protein from the APSES family of transcription factors, which we named Ust1, whose absence in yeast cells led to filamentous growth and the production of highly pigmented spore-like structures in culture. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptome of a ∆ust1 deletion mutant.
Project description:Some pathogen-derived effectors reprogram mRNA splicing in their host plant to regulate plant immune responses. The fungus Exserohilum turcicum is the causal agent of northern corn leaf blight, a damaging maize (Zea mays) disease. However, the low efficiency of genetic transformation of E. turcicum has hampered research on its effectors and whether E. turcicum effectors interfere with RNA splicing remained unknown. Here, using an alternative splicing (AS) reporter system, we identified the secreted protein EtEC81 (Exserohilum turcicum effector 81), which modulates the AS of maize pre-mRNAs and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of E. turcicum. EtEC81 physically interacts with EtEC81-interactiNG protein 1 (ZmEIP1), which associates with maize spliceosome components, regulating AS and positively regulating the defense response against E. turcicum. EtEC81 binding further enhanced the effect of ZmEIP1 on AS. Transcriptome analysis revealed 119 common genes with altered AS in maize plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 or EtEC81, suggesting that these factors cause the mis-regulation of cellular activities and thus induce immune responses. We used RT-qPCR to verify representative AS events in the plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 and EtEC81. Together, our results suggest that the EtEC81 effector targets ZmEIP1 to reprogram pre-mRNA splicing in maize.
Project description:Some pathogen-derived effectors reprogram mRNA splicing in their host plant to regulate plant immune responses. The fungus Exserohilum turcicum is the causal agent of northern corn leaf blight, a damaging maize (Zea mays) disease. However, the low efficiency of genetic transformation of E. turcicum has hampered research on its effectors and whether E. turcicum effectors interfere with RNA splicing remained unknown. Here, using an alternative splicing (AS) reporter system, we identified the secreted protein EtEC81 (Exserohilum turcicum effector 81), which modulates the AS of maize pre-mRNAs and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of E. turcicum. EtEC81 physically interacts with EtEC81-interactiNG protein 1 (ZmEIP1), which associates with maize spliceosome components, regulating AS and positively regulating the defense response against E. turcicum. EtEC81 binding further enhanced the effect of ZmEIP1 on AS. Transcriptome analysis revealed 119 common events with altered AS in maize plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 or EtEC81, suggesting that these factors cause the mis-regulation of cellular activities and thus induce immune responses. We used RT-qPCR to verify representative AS events in the plants transiently overexpressing ZmEIP1 and EtEC81. Together, our results suggest that the EtEC81 effector targets ZmEIP1 to reprogram pre-mRNA splicing in maize.
2025-01-16 | GSE286497 | GEO
Project description:Sweet corn RNA-sequencing after Bipolaris maydis Infection