BMC Genomics
BMC Genomics
5 years ago

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of resistant and susceptible alfalfa cultivars (Medicago sativa L.) after thrips infestation

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of resistant and susceptible alfalfa cultivars (Medicago sativa L.) after thrips infestation
Zehua Zhang, Xiongbing Tu, Zhongkuan Liu
Plant breeding for resistance to agricultural pests is an essential element in the development of integrated crop management systems; however, the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying resistance are poorly understood. In this pilot study, a transcriptomic analysis of a resistant (R) vs. a susceptible (S) variety of alfalfa, with (+T) or without (−T) thrips (= 4 treatments) was conducted, ‘GN-1’ (China) was defined as the resistant cultivar, and ‘WL323’ (America) was defined as the susceptible cultivar. A total of 970 mRNAs were differentially expressed, of which 129 up- and 191 down-regulated genes were identified in the R + T/R-T plants, while 413 up- and 237 down-regulated genes were identified in the S + T/S-T plants. KEGG analysis mapped 33 and 80 differentially expressed genes to 11 and 14 substantially enriched pathways for GN-1 and WL323, respectively. Five shared pathways were linked to plant resistance traits, including beta-Alanine metabolism, fatty acid degradation, chloroalkane and chloroalkene degradation, flavonoid biosynthesis, and phenylalanine metabolism. Results indicated both thrips resistant and susceptible alfalfa cultivars can regulate gene expression in the salicylic acid (SA) and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways to induce defensive genes and protein expression (e.g. polyphenol oxidase, protease inhibitor), which enhances plant defence capacity.

Publisher URL: https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-018-4495-2

DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-4495-2

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.