Open Access

ARTICLE

Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the molecular mechanism of the anti-nematode role of Arachis hypogaea (Fabales: Fabaceae) against Meloidogyne incognita (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae)

XUEJIN YANG^1,2,#, YUANYUAN ZHOU^1,#, XINYI PENG¹, XIAOHONG FU¹, JIANQING MA¹, JIANFENG LIU^1,*, DANDAN CAO^1,2,*

1 College of Life Science, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
2 Hebei Innovation Center for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China

* Corresponding Authors: Jianfeng Liu, ; Dandan Cao,
# These authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Plant Cell Physiology and Stress Biology)

BIOCELL 2023, 47(9), 2101-2113. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.029581

Received 27 February 2023; Accepted 01 June 2023; Issue published 28 September 2023

Abstract

Background: Plant root-knot nematode (RKN) disease is a serious threat to agricultural production across the world. Meloidogyne incognita is the most prominent pathogen to the vegetables and cash crops cultivated. Arachis hypogaea can effectively inhibit M. incognita, but the underlying defense mechanism is still unclear. Methods: In our study, the chemotaxis and infestation of the second-stage juveniles (J2s) of M. incognita to A. hypogaea root tips were observed by the Pluronic F-127 system and stained with sodium hypochlorite acid fuchsin, respectively. The transcriptome data of A. hypogaea roots with non-infected or infected by J2s were analyzed. Results: The J2s could approach and infect inside of A. hypogaea root tips, and the chemotactic migration rate and infestation rate were 20.72% and 22.50%, respectively. Differential gene expression and pathway enrichment analyses revealed ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis pathway, plant hormone signal transduction pathway, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway in A. hypogaea roots responded to the infestation of M. incognita. Furthermore, the AhHPT gene, encoding homogentisate phytyltransferase, was considered to be an ideal candidate gene due to its higher expression based on the transcriptome data and quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Conclusion: Therefore, the key gene AhHPT might be involved in the A. hypogaea against M. incognita. These findings lay a foundation for revealing the molecular mechanism of A. hypogaea resistance to M. incognita and also provide a prerequisite for further gene function verification, aiming at RKN-resistant molecular breeding.

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