Identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) responsive miRNAs in banana root

Abstract

The fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is the causal agent of Fusarium wilt disease, which is the most serious disease affecting the whole banana industry. Although extensive studies have characterized many Foc-responsive genes in banana, the molecular mechanisms on microRNA level underlying both banana defense and Foc pathogenesis are not yet fully understood. In this study, we aimed to reveal the role of miRNA during banana-Foc TR4 interactions. Illumina sequencing was used to reveal the changes in small RNAome profiles in roots of Foc TR4-inoculated ‘Tianbaojiao’ banana (Musa acuminata cv. Tianbaojiao) in the early stages (i.e. 5 h, 10 h and 25 h post Foc TR4 inoculation, respectively). The expression of some differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and their predicted target genes was studied by using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR). Totally, 254 known miRNAs from 31 miRNA families and 28 novel miRNAs were identified. Differential expression analysis identified 84, 77 and 74 DE miRNAs at the three respective Foc TR4 infection time points compared with control healthy banana (CK). GO and KEGG analysis revealed that most of the predicted target genes of DE miRNAs (DET) were implicated in peroxisome, fatty acid metabolism, auxin-activated signaling pathway, sulfur metabolism, lignin metabolism and so on, and many known stress responsive genes were identified to be DETs. Moreover, expected inverse correlations were confirmed between some miRNA and their corresponding target genes by using qRT-PCR analysis. Our study revealed that miRNA play important regulatory roles during the banana-Foc TR4 interaction by regulating peroxidase, fatty acid metabolism, auxin signaling, sulfur metabolism, lignin metabolism related genes and many known stress responsive genes.

Functional Analysis of MaWRKY24 in Transcriptional Activation of Autophagy-Related Gene 8f/g and Plant Disease Susceptibility to Soil-Borne Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense

“…• C in the dark, and then fresh Foc 4 was washed out using sterilized water. The washed Foc 4 solution was filtered by sterilized six-layer gauze to remove the mycelium, and the spore solution concentration was adjusted to 5 × 10 6 spores/mL for pathogen inoculation [6].…”

“…Fusarium wilt of the banana (Panama disease) caused by soil-borne Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is one of the most destructive [3][4][5][6]. What is worse, the soil-borne disease spreads rapidly, and no sustainable control method has been developed so far, thus posing a great threat to banana production all over the world [3,[6][7][8].…”

“…cubense (Foc) is one of the most destructive [3][4][5][6]. What is worse, the soil-borne disease spreads rapidly, and no sustainable control method has been developed so far, thus posing a great threat to banana production all over the world [3,[6][7][8]. Based on different banana hosts, at least three strains of Foc have been identified: Foc strain 1 (Foc 1), Foc strain 2 (Foc 2), and Foc strain 4 (Foc 4) [4,6].…”

“…What is worse, the soil-borne disease spreads rapidly, and no sustainable control method has been developed so far, thus posing a great threat to banana production all over the world [3,[6][7][8]. Based on different banana hosts, at least three strains of Foc have been identified: Foc strain 1 (Foc 1), Foc strain 2 (Foc 2), and Foc strain 4 (Foc 4) [4,6]. The initial symptom of banana wilt is blister damage on the leaves, followed by progressive leaf yellowing from the lower leaves to the upper leaves in response to Foc infection [8].…”

Genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of lipoxygenase gene family in banana

“…Banana, as one of the most important and popular fruit, is an herbaceous perennial plant belonging to Musa family. Cultivated banana is generally low in stress resistance and is susceptible to external environmental stresses such as low temperature and Fusarium wilt 24 . There are also several reports on the expression patterns of some banana LOXs using omic techniques, and their roles in banana responses to high temperature, low temperature and Fusarium wilt have been described 25 – 28 .…”