Transcriptomic Analysis of Orange Fruit Treated with Pomegranate Peel Extract (PGE)
Imen Belgacem,
Sonia Pangallo,
Ahmed Abdelfattah,
Flora V. Romeo,
Santa O. Cacciola,
Maria G. Li Destri Nicosia,
Gabriele Ballistreri,
Leonardo Schena
Affiliations
Imen Belgacem
Dipartimento di Agraria, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Sonia Pangallo
Dipartimento di Agraria, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Ahmed Abdelfattah
Dipartimento di Agraria, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Flora V. Romeo
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA) – Centro di Ricerca Olivicoltura, Frutticoltura e Agrumicoltura, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
Santa O. Cacciola
Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Maria G. Li Destri Nicosia
Dipartimento di Agraria, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Gabriele Ballistreri
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria (CREA) – Centro di Ricerca Olivicoltura, Frutticoltura e Agrumicoltura, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
Leonardo Schena
Dipartimento di Agraria, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Località Feo di Vito, 89122 Reggio Calabria, Italy
A Pomegranate Peel Extract (PGE) has been proposed as a natural antifungal substance with a wide range of activity against plant diseases. Previous studies showed that the extract has a direct antimicrobial activity and can elicit resistance responses in plant host tissues. In the present study, the transcriptomic response of orange fruit toward PGE treatments was evaluated. RNA-seq analyses, conducted on wounded fruits 0, 6, and 24 h after PGE applications, showed a significantly different transcriptome in treated oranges as compared to control samples. The majority (273) of the deferentially expressed genes (DEGs) were highly up-regulated compared to only 8 genes that were down-regulated. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed the involvement of 1233 gene ontology (GO) terms and 35 KEGG metabolic pathways. Among these, important defense pathways were induced and antibiotic biosynthesis was the most enriched one. These findings may explain the underlying preventive and curative activity of PGE against plant diseases.
