Identificação de genes candidatos para resistência ao mosaico da cana-de-açúcar a partir da técnica de cDNA-AFLP

A doença do mosaico da cana-de-açúcar, causada pelo Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), é uma das principais doenças incidentes na cultura. Para compreender a base molecular dessa interação planta-patógeno o presente trabalho objetivou identificar potenciais genes candidatos à resistência ao mosaico através da técnica de cDNA-AFLP utilizando duas variedades contrastantes quanto a resistência ao SCMV (estirpe Rib-1). Plantas das variedades IACSP95-5000 (resistente) e IAC91-1099 (suscetível) obtidas por micromeristemas foram inoculadas com a estirpe Rib-1 em condições controladas de casa de vegetação para a identificação de fragmentos diferencialmente expressos (FDE) nos tempos de 24, 48 e 72 horas após a inoculação (hpi). No total, foram obtidos 772 FDEs, dos quais 392 observados na variedade resistente e 380 na suscetível. As variedades apresentaram comportamento diferencial quanto ao número de FDEs induzidos e reprimidos ao longo dos tempos de amostragens (24, 48 e 72 hpi). A variedade resistente apresentou um número maior de FDEs, correspondentes a prováveis genes induzidos no tempo de 24 hpi em relação a suscetível, diminuindo com o passar do tempo de inoculação, enquanto o número de FDEs correspondentes a prováveis genes induzidos aumentou com o tempo de inoculação na variedade suscetível. Sessenta e seis FDEs foram identificados exclusivamente na variedade resistente, sendo que 9 foram reprimidos e 57 induzidos após a inoculação com o SCMV. Destes 57, 23 foram sequenciados e destes, 10 FDEs mostraram identidade com sequências conhecidas de plantas, sendo a maioria relacionada com mecanismos de defesa da planta contra o patógeno e 3 FDEs não apresentam identidades com sequências descritas e podem exercer papel importante no mecanismo de resistência. A técnica de cDNA-AFLP foi eficiente em revelar alterações do perfil de transcrição dentro...The sugarcane mosaic disease caused by the Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV) is a major disease incident in this crop. To understand the molecular basis of the plant pathogen interaction, the present study aimed to identify potential candidate genes for mosaic resistance by cDNA-AFLP technique using two contrasting varieties for SCMV (Rib-1 strain) resistance. Plants of the varieties IACSP95-5000 (resistant) and IAC91-1099 (susceptible) obtained by micro-meristem were inoculated with the Rib-1 strain under greenhouse controlled conditions to the identification of differentially expressed fragments (DEF) at the sampling time points of 24, 48 and 72 hours after inoculation (hpi). In total, 772 DEFs were obtained, of which 392 were observed in the resistant variety and 380 in the susceptible. The varieties showed differential behavior in the number of induced and repressed DEFs during the sampling time points (24, 48 and 72 hpi). The resistant variety produced a higher number of DEFs at 24 hpi (probably corresponding to induced genes) decreasing over the time of inoculation, when compared to the susceptible, in which the number of DEFs increased over the hpi. Sixty-six DEFs were identified exclusively in the resistant variety, of which 9 were repressed and 57 induced after inoculation with SCMV. Of these 57, 23 were sequenced and 10 of them showed identity with known plant sequences, mostly related to mechanisms of plant defense against pathogen, while 3 DFEs have no identities with sequences described in the bank and probably may play an important role in the resistance mechanism. The cDNA-AFLP technique was effective in revealing changes in the transcription profile within and between contrasting varieties when challenged by the mosaic virus. The total set of DFEs can be an important tool in studies to understand the resistance mechanism, as well as for the development of molecular markers to be ..

Sugarcane mosaic virus mediated changes in cytosine methylation pattern and differentially transcribed fragments in resistance-contrasting sugarcane genotypes.

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) is the causal agent of sugarcane mosaic disease (SMD) in Brazil; it is mainly controlled by using resistant cultivars. Studies on the changes in sugarcane transcriptome provided the first insights about the molecular basis underlying the genetic resistance to SMD; nonetheless, epigenetic modifications such as cytosine methylation is also informative, considering its roles in gene expression regulation. In our previous study, differentially transcribed fragments (DTFs) were obtained using cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism by comparing mock- and SCMV-inoculated plants from two sugarcane cultivars with contrasting responses to SMD. In this study, the identification of unexplored DTFs was continued while the same leaf samples were used to evaluate SCMV-mediated changes in the cytosine methylation pattern by using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism. This analysis revealed minor changes in cytosine methylation in response to SCMV infection, but distinct changes between the cultivars with contrasting responses to SMD, with higher hypomethylation events 24 and 72 h post-inoculation in the resistant cultivar. The differentially methylated fragments (DMFs) aligned with transcripts, putative promoters, and genomic regions, with a preponderant distribution within CpG islands. The transcripts found were associated with plant immunity and other stress responses, epigenetic changes, and transposable elements. The DTFs aligned with transcripts assigned to stress responses, epigenetic changes, photosynthesis, lipid transport, and oxidoreductases, in which the transcriptional start site is located in proximity with CpG islands and tandem repeats. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction results revealed significant upregulation in the resistant cultivar of aspartyl protease and VQ protein, respectively, selected from DMF and DTF alignments, suggesting their roles in genetic resistance to SMD and supporting the influence of cytosine methylation in gene expression. Thus, we identified new candidate genes for further validation and showed that the changes in cytosine methylation may regulate important mechanisms underlying the genetic resistance to SMD

Reference genes for gene expression studies targeting sugarcane infected with Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV)

Abstract Objective The selection of reference genes in sugarcane under Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) infection has not been reported and is indispensable to get reliable reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results for validation of transcriptome analysis. In this regard, seven potential reference genes were tested by RT-qPCR and ranked according to their stability using BestKeeper, NormFinder and GeNorm algorithms, and RefFinder WEB-based software in an experiment performed with samples from two sugarcane cultivars contrasting for SCMV resistance, when mechanically inoculated with a severe SCMV strain and using mock inoculated plant controls. Results The genes Uridylate kinase (UK) and Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 18 (UBC18) were the most stable according to GeNorm algorithm and the Pearson correlation coefficients with the BestKeeper index. On the other hand, ribosomal protein L35-4 (RPL1), Actin (ACT) and Ubiquitin1 (UBQ1) were the least stable genes for all algorithms tested