AUTHOR=Cao Zhe , Kapoor Karan , Li Li , Banniza Sabine 

TITLE=Interactive Gene Expression Patterns of Susceptible and Resistant Lens ervoides Recombinant Inbred Lines and the Necrotroph Ascochyta lentis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01259

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01259

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Ascochyta lentis</italic> is a foliar pathogen of <italic>Lens</italic> species and is of worldwide importance in cultivated lentil production. High levels of resistance were identified in the wild species <italic>Lens ervoides</italic>. This resistance was explored through histopathology, qPCR estimation of fungal biomass and transcriptome sequencing in a susceptible and a resistant recombinant inbred line (RIL) of <italic>L. ervoides</italic> infected with an aggressive isolate of <italic>A. lentis</italic>. Necrotrophic growth was delayed in the resistant RIL compared to accelerated necrotrophy of <italic>A. lentis</italic> in the susceptible RIL. Analysis of the fungal secretome indicated that the early activation of cell wall-degrading enzymes contributed to increased virulence of <italic>A. lentis</italic>. On the host side, gene co-expression analysis revealed that the invasion by <italic>A. lentis</italic> caused mRNA, DNA and protein decay in infected plants regardless of the level of resistance in the host. The resistant RIL exhibited a stronger gene co-expression in lipid localization and sulfur processes, and cellular responses to nutrients and stimuli than the susceptible RIL. In addition, differential gene analysis revealed that the repression of both, gibberellin signaling and cell death associated with the hypersensitive response (HR), were associated with enhanced <italic>A. lentis</italic> resistance.</p>