Transcriptome analysis of the rice response to blast fungus
identified core genes involved in immunity
Dewei Yang1,2, Shengping Li1, Zichao
Zheng1, Lin Lu1, Dingzhong
Tang1* and Haitao Cui1*
1State Key Laboratory of Ecological Control of
Fujian-Taiwan Crop Pests; Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for
Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops; Plant Immunity
Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002,
China.
2Institute of Rice, Fujian Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, Fuzhou, 350019, China
* Correspondence: Haitao Cui
(cui@fafu.edu.cn) and
Dingzhong Tang
(dztang@genetics.ac.cn)
Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China
(31770277) (ZZ, HC), Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province
(2018J01609) (ZZ, HC), the Youth Technology Innovation Team of Fujian
Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. STIT2017-3-3)(DY), the Special
Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of Fujian
Province (2020R11010016-3)(DY), and the startup fund for the Plant
Immunity Center of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (DT).
Abstract: Rice blast disease caused by the filamentous
Ascomycetous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is a major threat to rice
production worldwide. The mechanisms underlying rice resistance toM. oryzae , such as transcriptional reprogramming and signaling
networks, remain elusive. In this study, we carried out an in-depth
comparative transcriptome study on the susceptible and resistant rice
cultivar in response to M. oryzae . Our analysis highlighted that
a rapid, high-amplitude transcriptional reprogramming was important for
rice defense against blast fungus. The ribosome- and protein
translation-related genes were significantly enriched in differentially
expressed genes (DEGs) at 12 hpi in both cultivars, indicating that the
protein translation machinery is regulated in the activation of immunity
in rice. Furthermore, we identified a core set of genes that are
involved in the rice response to biotic as well as to abiotic stress.
More importantly, among the core genes, we demonstrated that the
metallothionein OsMT1a and OsMT1b genes positively while a
peroxidase gene Perox4 negatively regulated rice resistance toM. oryzae. Our study provides novel insight into transcriptional
reprogramming and a valuable resource for functional studies on rice
immune signaling components in resistance to blast disease.
Keywords: Rice blast disease, immunity, transcriptome,
peroxidase, Magnaporthe
Ackowledgments: We thank Prof. Zonghua Wang (Fujian Agriculture
and Forestry University) for providing the M. oryzae isolate
Guy11, 18SH-D527, FJ2011, 95085AZB and 18NH-16-3; We thank Dr. Wenming
Wang and Xuewei Chen (Sichuan Agricultural University) for providing theM. oryzae isolate Zhong 1. We thank Dr. Dagang Tian (Fujian
Academy of Agricultural Sciences) for providing the M. oryzaeisolates KJ201, 501-3, RB22 and 20-15.