Comparative gene expression analysis reveals mechanism of Pinus contorta response to the fungal pathogen Dothistroma septosporum

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Description:

Many conifers have distributions that span wide ranges in both biotic and abiotic conditions, but the basis of response to biotic stress has received much less attention than response to abiotic stress. In this study, we investigated the gene expression response of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) to attack by the fungal pathogen Dothistroma septosporum, which causes Dothistroma needle blight (DNB), a disease that has caused severe climate-related outbreaks in northwestern British Columbia. We inoculated tolerant and susceptible pines with two D. septosporum isolates and analyzed the differentially expressed genes, differential exon usage, and co-expressed gene modules using RNA-seq data. We found a rapid and strong transcriptomic response in tolerant lodgepole pine samples inoculated with one D. septosporum isolate, and a late and weak response in susceptible samples inoculated with another isolate. We mapped 43 of the DEG- or gene-module-identified genes to the reference plant-pathogen interaction pathway deposited in KEGG database. These genes are present in PAMP-triggered and effector-triggered immunity pathways, including genes encoding mitogen-activated protein kinase and disease resistance protein. Genes comprising pathways and gene modules had signatures of strong selective constraint, while the highly expressed genes in tolerant samples appear to have been favored by selection to counterattack the pathogen. We identified candidate resistance genes that may respond to D. septosporum effectors. Taken together, our results show that gene expression response to D. septosporum infection in lodgepole pine varies both among tree genotypes and pathogen strains, and involves both known candidate genes and a number of genes with previously unknown functions.

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Author(s):

Lu, Mengmeng

Lu, Mengmeng

University of Calgary

, Feau, Nicolas

Feau, Nicolas

University of British Columbia

, Obreht Vidakovic, Dragana

Obreht Vidakovic, Dragana

University of British Columbia

, Ukrainetz, Nicholas

Ukrainetz, Nicholas

Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations

, Wong, Barbara

Wong, Barbara

Université Laval

, Aitken, Sally

Aitken, Sally

University of British Columbia

, Hamelin, Richard

Hamelin, Richard

University of British Columbia

, and Yeaman, Sam

Yeaman, Sam

University of Calgary

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Source Repository:

Dryad

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URL:

https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1vhhmgqps

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Publication date:

2020-11-17

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APA Citation:

Lu, M., Feau, N., Obreht Vidakovic, D., Ukrainetz, N., Wong, B., Aitken, S., Hamelin, R., & Yeaman, S. (2020). Comparative gene expression analysis reveals mechanism of Pinus contorta response to the fungal pathogen Dothistroma septosporum [Data set]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1vhhmgqps

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