PLOS ONE; PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE; 1160 BATTERY STREET, STE 100, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111 USA; SAN FRANCISCO
Abstract
Not AvailableFusarium virguliforme causes the serious disease sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soybean. Host resistance to this pathogen is partial and is encoded by a large number of quantitative trait loci, each conditioning small effects. Breeding SDS resistance is therefore challenging and identification of single-gene encoded novel resistance mechanisms is becoming a priority to fight this devastating this fungal pathogen. In this transcriptomic study we identified a few putative soybean defense genes, expression of which is suppressed during F. virguliforme infection. The F. virguliforme infection-suppressed genes were broadly classified into four major classes. The steady state transcript levels of many of these genes were suppressed to undetectable levels immediately following F. virguliforme infection. One of these classes contains two novel genes encoding ankyrin repeat-containing proteins. Expression of one of these genes, GmARP1, during F. virguliforme infection enhances SDS resistance among the transgenic soybean plants. Our data suggest that GmARP1 is a novel defense gene and the pathogen presumably suppress its expression to establish compatible interaction.USDA NIFAUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA) [2013 - 68004 - 20374]Iowa Soybean Association; National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), United States Department of Agriculture [2013 - 68004 - 20374
