Salicylic acid-related cotton (Gossypium arboreum) ribosomal protein GaRPL18 contributes to resistance to Verticillium dahliae

Abstract

Background Verticillium dahliae is a phytopathogenic fungal pathogen that causes vascular wilt diseases responsible for considerable decreases in cotton yields. The complex mechanism underlying cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt remains uncharacterized. Identifying an endogenous resistance gene may be useful for controlling this disease.ResultsWe cloned the ribosomal protein L18 (GaRPL18) gene, which mediates resistance to Verticillium wilt, from a wilt-resistant cotton species (Gossypium arboreum). We then characterized the function of this gene in cotton and Arabidopsis thaliana plants. GaRPL18 encodes a 60S ribosomal protein subunit important for intracellular protein biosynthesis. However, previous studies revealed that some ribosomal proteins are also inhibitory toward oncogenesis and congenital diseases in humans and play a role in plant disease defense. Here, we observed that V. dahliae infections induce GaRPL18 expression. Furthermore, we determined that the GaRPL18 expression pattern is consistent with the disease resistance level of different cotton varieties. GaRPL18 expression is upregulated by salicylic acid (SA) treatments, suggesting the involvement of GaRPL18 in the SA signal transduction pathway. Virus-induced gene silencing technology was used to determine whether the GaRPL18 expression level influences cotton disease resistance. Wilt-resistant cotton species in which GaRPL18 was silenced became more susceptible to V. dahliae than the control plants because of a significant decrease in the abundance of immune-related molecules. We also transformed A. thaliana ecotype Columbia (Col-0) plants with GaRPL18 according to the floral dip method. The plants overexpressing GaRPL18 were more resistant to V. dahliae infections than the wild-type Col-0 plants. The enhanced resistance of transgenic A. thaliana plants to V. dahliae is likely mediated by the SA pathway.ConclusionOur findings provide new insights into the role of GaRPL18, indicating that it plays a crucial role in resistance to cotton “cancer”, also known as Verticillium wilt, mainly regulated by an SA-related signaling pathway mechanism.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-017-1007-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

GhWRKY70D13 Regulates Resistance to Verticillium dahliae in Cotton Through the Ethylene and Jasmonic Acid Signaling Pathways

“…Cotton production is constantly threated by various biotic and abiotic stresses, such as cold, drought, insect pests, and pathogens. The soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae is one of the most destructive pathogens in cotton production areas worldwide (Cai et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2016;Gong et al, 2017). Verticillium wilt caused by V. dahliae is difficult to control since V. dahliae has a wide host range and its microsclerotia can survive for long periods in the soil even in the absence of suitable hosts (Fradin and Thomma, 2006;Shaban et al, 2018).…”

Heterologous Expression of the AtNPR1 Gene in Olive and Its Effects on Fungal Tolerance

“…In potato, overexpression of a polymorphic sequence of cDNA-AFLP, StoNPR1, isolated from a Verticillium-resistant genotype of Solanum torvum (Wang et al, 2010), conferred resistance through induction of genes involved in the SA biosynthetic pathway, including ICS1 (isochorismate synthase 1) (Deng-Wei et al, 2014). Similarly, in cotton, Gong et al (2017) reported that decreased resistance was observed following silencing of SA-upregulated ribosomal protein gene L18 (GaRPL18), while Tang et al (2019) found that silencing of three Wall Are Thin genes resulted in increased SA levels and lignin synthesis and, subsequently, enhanced resistance to V. dahliae. Our results indicate a beneficial effect of SAR response in one of the olive-ND V. dahliae isolates used.…”

The Cotton BEL1-Like Transcription Factor GhBLH7-D06 Negatively Regulates the Defense Response against Verticillium dahliae

“…Knock-down of GbTSA1 (Tryptophan Synthase α) and GbTSB1 (Tryptophan Synthase β) induces a spontaneous cell death phenotype in a SA-dependent manner and enhanced resistance to V. dahliae in cotton plants [ 24 ]. Gong et al reported that the SA signaling pathway mediated by GaRPL18 enhances the cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt [ 25 ]. Moreover, phytohormone crosstalk networks play important roles during plant abiotic and biotic stress responses [ 26 ].…”