Global transcriptome changes in perennial ryegrass during early infection by pink snow mould

Abstract

Lack of resistance to pink snow mould (Microdochium nivale) is a major constraint for adaptation of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) to continental regions with long-lasting snow cover at higher latitudes. Almost all investigations of genetic variation in resistance have been performed using cold acclimated plants. However, there may be variation in resistance mechanisms that are functioning independently of cold acclimation. In this study our aim was to identify candidate genes involved in such resistance mechanisms. We first characterized variation in resistance to M. nivale among non-acclimated genotypes from the Norwegian cultivar ‘Fagerlin’ based on relative regrowth and fungal quantification by real-time qPCR. One resistant and one susceptible genotype were selected for transcriptome analysis using paired-end sequencing by Illumina Hiseq 2000. Transcriptome profiles, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis indicate that defense response related genes are differentially expressed between the resistant and the susceptible genotype. A significant up-regulation of defense related genes, as well as genes involved in cell wall cellulose metabolic processes and aryl-alcohol dehydrogenase (NADP+) activity, was observed in the resistant genotype. The candidate genes identified in this study might be potential molecular marker resources for breeding perennial ryegrass cultivars with improved resistance to pink snow mould.

Local and systemic regulation of PSII efficiency in triticale infected by the hemibiotrophic pathogen Microdochium nivale

“…Some of these changes are also thought to increase resistance to pathogens, e.g. cellular dehydration, accumulation of defence‐related proteins and fructans and changes in the physical and chemical properties of the leaf surface and cell walls (Szechyńska‐Hebda et al , , , Kovi et al ). The lower number of QTL regions corresponding to the resistance of unhardened plants also confirms that effective defence can be developed only after cold treatment.…”

“…Plant resistance to snow mould can be pre‐induced by low, non‐freezing temperatures in a genotype‐dependent manner (Gołębiowska and Wędzony , Gołębiowska et al , Szechyńska‐Hebda et al , , Kovi et al , Arraiano and Brown ). Some triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm.)…”

De novo and reference transcriptome assembly of transcripts expressed during flowering provide insight into seed setting in tetraploid red clover

“…The de novo assembly was performed in a similar manner as described by Kovi et al . 27 . Briefly, adapter sequences and low quality reads were removed using the sickle program ( https://github.com/najoshi/sickle/blob/master/README.md ).…”

“…The CEGMA software (version 2.4) 35 was used to evaluate the quality of the four transcriptome assembly datasets. Several genome and transcriptome assembly studies have used CEGMA for evaluating the quality of assemblies 27 . CEGMA detects the presence of 248 extremely conserved core eukaryotic genes (CEGs) and their coverage in transcriptome assemblies for evaluation of the completeness of the assembly.…”

Snow mold of winter cereals: a complex disease and a challenge for resistance breeding

“…Nevertheless, detected regions on chromosomes 5A and 6B may be syntenic between wheat and triticale and could give a good start for investigations in other related cereals crops, e.g., rye. Kovi et al (2016) conducted a major study of whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) in order to understand the response of Lolium perenne to an early infection of M. nivale. Transcriptomic changes in perennial ryegrass during early infection were detected.…”