Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal that lignin biosynthesis contributes to bayberry (Myrica rubra) defence responses against twig blight
Junning Guo,
Gang Li,
Munazza Ijaz,
Rahila Hafeez,
Ezzeldin Ibrahim,
Temoor Ahmed,
Xingjiang Qi,
Shuwen Zhang,
Hayssam M. Ali,
Bin Li,
Haiying Ren
Affiliations
Junning Guo
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Horticulture, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China; State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Gang Li
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Horticulture, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Munazza Ijaz
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Rahila Hafeez
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Ezzeldin Ibrahim
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Temoor Ahmed
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Xianghu Laboratory, Hangzhou 311231, China
Xingjiang Qi
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Horticulture, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Shuwen Zhang
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Horticulture, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
Hayssam M. Ali
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Bin Li
State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Corresponding authors.
Haiying Ren
State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Treats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Horticulture, Institute of Agro-Product Safety and Nutrition, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China; Corresponding authors.
Twig blight is a highly destructive disease primarily caused by Pestalotiopsis versicolor. It affects bayberry (Myrica rubra) cultivation and production. However, the molecular and regulatory defence responses to twig blight remain unclear. We inoculated a susceptible cultivar bayberry variety with P. versicolor XJ27 and carefully profiled the disease development. The bayberry disease index increased sharply following inoculation. We conducted integrative transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to track key genes and secondary metabolomic changes in susceptible bayberry leaves. Herein, we identified 9588 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 748 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs). Of these, seven structural genes and seven metabolites (including L-phenylalanine, coniferin, p-coumaric acid, cinnamaldehyde, eleutheroside B, ferulaldehyde, and isoeugenol) related to lignin biosynthesis markedly increased following pathogen infection. These observations suggest that lignin biosynthesis may facilitate bayberry defence responses to twig blight. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis further confirmed the higher expression levels of pivotal lignin synthesis genes in infected leaves. In addition, higher foliar lignin levels and increased xylem formation in infected leaves provided evidence that lignin synthesis was enhanced during bayberry response to twig blight. These findings not only provide effective management strategies for bayberry twig blight but also promote the breeding of high-quality resistant varieties.
