Phenolic and miRNA response of resistant hop cultivar ‘Wye Target’ after inoculation with phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae

Abstract BackgroundMicro RNAs are 21- to 24-nucleotide-long, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They can modulate various biochemical and physiological processes, including plant response and resistance to fungal pathogens, by regulating the expression of numerous genes. Hops are grown for use in the brewing industry and have recently attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry. Severe Verticillium wilt disease caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae is the main factor in yield loss in many crops, including hops (Humulus lupulus L.). ResultsIn our study, we identified miRNAs in hops and their expression patterns in the roots of susceptible and resistant hop cultivars in the early stages of infection with the fungus V. nonalfalfae. In total 56 known and 43 novel miRNAs were predicted. In response to infection with V. nonalfalfae, we found five known and two novel miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the susceptible cultivar and six known miRNAs in the resistant cultivar. Differentially expressed miRNAs target 49 transcripts and their gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that the susceptible cultivar responds by modulating the processes of protein localization and pigment synthesis, whereas the resistant cultivar responds by modulating transcription factors and hormone signalling.ConclusionThe results of our study suggest that the susceptible and the resistant cultivar respond differently at the miRNA level to infection with V. nonalfalfae and that miRNAs may contribute to the successful defence of the resistant cultivar.

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Genome Sequence of a Lethal Strain of Xylem-Invading Verticillium nonalfalfae

Genome Announcements ◽

10.1128/genomea.01458-17 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jernej Jakše ◽

Vid Jelen ◽

Sebastjan Radišek ◽

Ronnie de Jonge ◽

Stanislav Mandelc ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genome Sequence ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Wilt Disease ◽

Phytopathogenic Fungus ◽

Genomic Information ◽

Crop Species ◽

Verticillium Nonalfalfae

ABSTRACT Verticillium nonalfalfae, a soilborne vascular phytopathogenic fungus, causes wilt disease in several crop species. Of great concern are outbreaks of highly aggressive V. nonalfalfae strains, which cause a devastating wilt disease in European hops. We report here the genome sequence and annotation of V. nonalfalfae strain T2, providing genomic information that will allow better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of highly aggressive strains.

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Identification and Characterization of Verticillium nonalfalfae-Responsive MicroRNAs in the Roots of Resistant and Susceptible Hop Cultivars

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10091883 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1883

Author(s):

Urban Kunej ◽

Jernej Jakše ◽

Sebastjan Radišek ◽

Nataša Štajner

Keyword(s):

Fungal Pathogens ◽

Protein Localization ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Resistant Cultivar ◽

Phytopathogenic Fungus ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Susceptible Cultivar ◽

Pigment Synthesis ◽

Verticillium Nonalfalfae

MicroRNAs are 21- to 24-nucleotide-long, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They can modulate various biological processes, including plant response and resistance to fungal pathogens. Hops are grown for use in the brewing industry and, recently, also for the pharmaceutical industry. Severe Verticillium wilt caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae, is the main factor in yield loss in many crops, including hops (Humulus lupulus L.). In our study, we identified 56 known and 43 novel miRNAs and their expression patterns in the roots of susceptible and resistant hop cultivars after inoculation with V. nonalfalfae. In response to inoculation with V. nonalfalfae, we found five known and two novel miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the susceptible cultivar and six known miRNAs in the resistant cultivar. Differentially expressed miRNAs target 49 transcripts involved in protein localization and pigment synthesis in the susceptible cultivar, whereas they are involved in transcription factor regulation and hormone signalling in the resistant cultivar. The results of our study suggest that the susceptible and resistant hop cultivars respond differently to V. nonalfalfae inoculation at the miRNA level and that miRNAs may contribute to the successful defence of the resistant cultivar.

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Identification and Characterization of Verticillium Nonalfalfae-responsive Micrornas in the Roots of Resistant and Susceptible Hop Cultivars

10.21203/rs.3.rs-114355/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Urban Kunej ◽

Jernej Jakše ◽

Sebastjan Radišek ◽

Nataša Štajner

Keyword(s):

Protein Localization ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Resistant Cultivar ◽

Phytopathogenic Fungus ◽

Transcriptional Level ◽

Susceptible Cultivar ◽

Pigment Synthesis ◽

Micro Rnas ◽

Verticillium Nonalfalfae

Abstract Micro RNAs are 21- to 24-nucleotide-long, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They can modulate various biological processes, including plant response and resistance to fungal pathogens. Hops are grown for use in the brewing industry and recently also for pharmaceutical industry. Severe Verticillium wilt caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae, is the main factor in yield loss in many crops, including hops (Humulus lupulus L.). In our study, we identified 56 known and 43 novel miRNAs and their expression patterns in the roots of susceptible and resistant hop cultivars after inoculation with V. nonalfalfae. In response to inoculation with V. nonalfalfae, we found five known and two novel miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the susceptible cultivar and six known miRNAs in the resistant cultivar. Differentially expressed miRNAs target 49 transcripts involved in protein localization and pigment synthesis in the susceptible cultivar, whereas they are involved in transcription factor regulation and hormone signalling in the resistant cultivar. The results of our study suggest that the susceptible and resistant hop cultivars respond differently to V. nonalfalfae inoculation at the miRNA level and that miRNAs may contribute to the successful defence of the resistant cultivar.

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Core RNA Interference Genes Involved in miRNA and Ta-siRNA Biogenesis in Hops and Their Expression Analysis after Challenging with Verticillium nonalfalfae

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22084224 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. 4224

Author(s):

Urban Kunej ◽

Jernej Jakše ◽

Sebastjan Radišek ◽

Nataša Štajner

Keyword(s):

Rna Interference ◽

Expression Analysis ◽

Cannabis Sativa ◽

Defense Responses ◽

Resistant Cultivar ◽

Post Inoculation ◽

Biotic Stresses ◽

Argonaute 2 ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Verticillium Nonalfalfae

RNA interference is an evolutionary conserved mechanism by which organisms regulate the expression of genes in a sequence-specific manner to modulate defense responses against various abiotic or biotic stresses. Hops are grown for their use in brewing and, in recent years, for the pharmaceutical industry. Hop production is threatened by many phytopathogens, of which Verticillium, the causal agent of Verticillium wilt, is a major contributor to yield losses. In the present study, we performed identification, characterization, phylogenetic, and expression analyses of three Argonaute, two Dicer-like, and two RNA-dependent RNA polymerase genes in the susceptible hop cultivar Celeia and the resistant cultivar Wye Target after infection with Verticillium nonalfalfae. Phylogeny results showed clustering of hop RNAi proteins with their orthologues from the closely related species Cannabis sativa, Morus notabilis and Ziziphus jujuba which form a common cluster with species of the Rosaceae family. Expression analysis revealed downregulation of argonaute 2 in both cultivars on the third day post-inoculation, which may result in reduced AGO2-siRNA-mediated posttranscriptional gene silencing. Both cultivars may also repress ta-siRNA biogenesis at different dpi, as we observed downregulation of argonaute 7 in the susceptible cultivar on day 1 and downregulation of RDR6 in the resistant cultivar on day 3 after inoculation.

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