Sequences and Genome-Wide Analysis of mRNA and microRNA Expression in Tea (Camellia sinensis) Leaves in Response to Epicoccum sorghinum Infection

Abstract

Due to our lack of understanding of the host-pathogen epidemiology and the absence of effective control measures, tea leaf spot, caused by the fungus Epicoccum sorghinum, continues to reduce the productivity and quality of tea leaves in plantations in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Here, samples of tea ( Camellia sinensis [L.] O Kuntze) leaves either infected or uninfected by E. sorghinum were used as the study model. The mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) sequences in tea leaves from the two treatments were determined using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platforms, respectively. In total, 33,932 genes or transcripts from tea leaves were annotated. In response to infection by E. sorghinum, 1,068 or 467 of the differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were up- or downregulated, respectively, and the DEmRNAs containing peroxidase 21 and LRR receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinase ERECTA were enriched in terms of defense response. Meanwhile, 1,889 miRNAs were identified from infected or uninfected leaves. Nine or seven of the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) were up- or downregulated, respectively. The DEmiRNAs MIR5303j-p5, MIR6173-p5, miR858-3p, and novel-miR0377-3p were predicted to bind to DEmRNAs. Fifteen DEmRNAs annotated into transcription factor proteins enriched with respect to the plant-pathogen interaction pathway were predicted to be bound by the DEmiRNA miR858-3p. The sequences and abundances of the mRNAs and miRNAs from tea leaves infected by E. nigrum, and the prediction of the interaction between DEmiRNAs and DEmRNAs could contribute to our understanding of this plant-pathogen interaction. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

Global transcriptome analysis reveals fungal disease responsive core gene regulatory landscape in tea

“…A total of 102 mRNA sequencing datasets encompassing seven fungal pathogen treatments, i.e. Colletotrichum camelliae 14 , Didymella bellidis , Didymella segeticola 18 , Epicoccum sorghinum 19 , Lasiodiplodia theobromae 16 , Pestalotiopsis trachicarpicola 13 and Pseudopestalotiopsis sp. 17 at multiple time intervals including uninfected or control samples were obtained from NCBI-SRA and categorized accordingly (Fig.…”

“…A total of 102 RNA-seq datasets were harvested from the NCBI-SRA, comprising the raw sequence reads of mRNAs originating from tea leaves uninfected and infected groups of seven fungal pathogens viz. C. camelliae (BioProject: PRJNA396805) 14 , D. bellidis (BioProject: PRJNA800776), D. segeticola (BioProject: PRJNA528172) 18 , E. sorghinum (BioProject: PRJNA799860) 19 , L. theobromae (BioProject: PRJNA752965) 16 P. trachicarpicola (BioProject: PRJNA756832) 13 and Pseudopestalotiopsis sp. (BioProject: PRJNA564655) 17 .…”

“…Transcriptome profiling research has been done in relation to tea fungal infections in a number of studies 13 – 19 . Those studies mostly report transcriptomic responses to specific pathogens; some do not implement the reference genome or use different versions of tea genomes.…”