Molecular Mechanisms of the Stripe Rust Interaction with Resistant and Susceptible Wheat Genotypes

Abstract

Rust fungi cause significant damage to wheat production worldwide. In order to mitigate disease impact and improve food security via durable resistance, it is important to understand the molecular basis of host–pathogen interactions. Despite a long history of research and high agricultural importance, still little is known about the interactions between the stripe rust fungus and wheat host on the gene expression level. Here, we present analysis of the molecular interactions between a major wheat pathogen—Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst)—in resistant and susceptible host backgrounds. Using plants with durable nonrace-specific resistance along with fully susceptible ones allowed us to show how gene expression patterns shift in compatible versus incompatible interactions. The pathogen showed significantly greater number and fold changes of overexpressed genes on the resistant host than the susceptible host. Stress-related pathways including MAPK, oxidation–reduction, osmotic stress, and stress granule formation were, almost exclusively, upregulated in the resistant host background, suggesting the requirement of the resistance-countermeasure mechanism facilitated by Pst. In contrast, the susceptible host background allowed for broad overrepresentation of the nutrient uptake pathways. This is the first study focused on the stripe rust pathogen–wheat interactions, on the whole transcriptome level, from the pathogen side. It lays a foundation for the better understanding of the resistant/susceptible hosts versus pathogenic fungus interaction in a broader sense.

Meta-QTL analysis and identification of candidate genes for multiple-traits associated with spot blotch resistance in bread wheat

“…Similarly, the upregulated genes encoded proteins carrying the following domains: AOX protein family, AOX protein family, NBS-LRR and VQ protein. These results are also in agreement with the results of several earlier studies conducted either in Arabidopsis or in wheat [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] , suggesting that these DECGs deserve further detailed study.…”

Physio-Biochemical, Anatomical, and Molecular Analysis of Resistant and Susceptible Wheat Cultivars Infected with TTKSK, TTKST, and TTTSK Novel Puccinia graminis Races

“…Egypt's total wheat production is approximately 9 million tons, with consumption at 20 million tons. There are many challenges facing researchers to increase crop production under various environmental conditions such as water deficit [3,4], salinity [5], and rust diseases [6][7][8][9]. Stem rust is one of the most dangerous diseases and is caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp.…”