Heterologous Expression of the Grapevine JAZ7 Gene in Arabidopsis Confers Enhanced Resistance to Powdery Mildew but Not to Botrytis cinerea

Abstract

Jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) family proteins comprise a class of transcriptional repressors that silence jasmonate-inducible genes. Although a considerable amount of research has been carried out on this gene family, there is still very little information available on the role of specific JAZ gene members in multiple pathogen resistance, especially in non-model species. In this study, we investigated the potential resistance function of the VqJAZ7 gene from a disease-resistant wild grapevine, Vitis quinquangularis cv. “Shang-24”, through heterologous expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. VqJAZ7-expressing transgenic Arabidopsis were challenged with three pathogens: the biotrophic fungus Golovinomyces cichoracearum, necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea, and semi-biotrophic bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. We found that plants expressing VqJAZ7 showed greatly reduced disease symptoms for G. cichoracearum, but not for B. cinerea or P. syringae. In response to G cichoracearum infection, VqJAZ7-expressing transgenic lines exhibited markedly higher levels of cell death, superoxide anions (O2¯, and H2O2 accumulation, relative to nontransgenic control plants. Moreover, we also tested the relative expression of defense-related genes to comprehend the possible induced pathways. Taken together, our results suggest that VqJAZ7 in grapevine participates in molecular pathways of resistance to G. cichoracearum, but not to B. cinerea or P. syringae.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of leaves from two grapevine species reveals an early gene expression profile associated with Elsinoe ampelina resistance

“…In this current study, JArelated genes (JAZ, LOX, AOC and AOS) were up-regulated at early time points in the HR grape and at late time points in the HS grape. We previously reported that JAZ7is a candidate gene for conferring for resistance to powdery mildew infection in grape [51], which is consistent with studies showing that many herbivory-and pathogen-induced responses in grapevines are mediated by the JA pathway [28,52]. In contrast, SA signaling is typically involved in plant resistance to biotrophic pathogens [53], with the positive SA regulator EDS1 conferring basal defense against various pathogens by interacting with a subset of plant resistance (R) genes [54].…”

Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the JAZ Gene Family in Mentha canadensis L.

“…Likewise, MpJAZ, a homolog of AtJAZ, regulated cell growth and reproductive fitness in Marchantia polymorpha [43]. In addition, overexpression of VqJAZ7 enhanced resistance to powdery mildew by controlling cell death and the accumulation of superoxide anions [44]. TaJAZ1 positively regulated powdery mildew resistance via up-regulating expression of defense-related gene TaPR1/2 and increasing reactive oxygen species accumulation in wheat [45].…”

A novel maize microRNA negatively regulates resistance to Fusarium verticillioides

“…According to the different life styles, plant pathogens can be divided into biotrophs (which prefer living cells) and necrotrophs (which prefer dead cells) (Barna et al, 2012). In the case of necrotrophic pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea , cell death and tissue necrosis caused by accumulation of reactive oxygen species during pathogen infection were reported to benefit pathogen invasion by offering a growth substrate, thus increasing host susceptibility (Hanif et al, 2018; Tian et al, 2019; Wang et al, 2018). F. verticillioides is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen (Rivas‐San Vicente et al, 2013).…”