RNA interference core components identified and characterised in Verticillium nonalfalfae, a vascular wilt pathogenic plant fungi of hops

Jeseničnik, Taja (author), Štajner, Nataša (author), Radišek, Sebastjan (author), Jakše, Jernej (author)

The conserved RNA interference mechanism (RNAi) in the fungal kingdom has become a focus of intense scientific investigation. The three catalytic core components, Dicer-like (DCL), Argonaute (AGO), and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), and their associated small interfering RNA molecules (siRNAs) have been identified and characterised in several fungal species. Recent studies have proposed that RNAi is a major contributor to the virulence of fungal pathogens as a result of so-called trans-kingdom RNA silencing. In the present study, we report on the existence of three core RNAi proteins in the pathogenic plant fungus Verticillium nonalfalfae, which is a soilborne plant pathogen that causes severe wilting disease in hops (Humulus lupulus L.). Two DCL proteins, two AGO proteins, and two RdRP proteins were identified, and their conserved RNAi domains were characterised. Our phylogeny results confirm the existing taxonomic relationships in the Ascomycete fungal phylum and show that the fungi of the Hypocreomycetidae subclass of the Sordariomycetes class have high amino acid sequence similarity. The expression analysis revealed a potential role of RNAi in the pathogenicity of the fungi, since all the RNAi genes were highly upregulated in the highly virulent isolate T2 and were also differentially expressed in the V. nonalfalfae-susceptible Celeia and V. nonalfalfae-resistant Wye Target cultivars.

• Language: English
• Keywords: agricultural genetics, plant immunity, RNAi
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, art. 8651
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128245
• UDC: 577.2
• ISSN on article: 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44494-8
• COBISS.SI-ID: 9242233
• Publication date in RUL: 07.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Scientific reports
• Shortened title: Sci. rep.
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• COBISS.SI-ID: 18727432

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 17.06.2019

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: RNA, glive, Verticillium nonalfalfae, hmelj

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: 34110

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0077
• Name: Kmetijske rastline - genetika in sodobne tehnologije