AUTHOR=Wang Tiantian , Li Xiaobin , Zhang Chunlan , Xu Jize 

TITLE=Transcriptome analysis of Ganoderma lingzhi (Agaricomycetes) response to Trichoderma hengshanicum infection

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1131599

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1131599

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Green mold caused by <italic>Trichoderma</italic> spp. has become one of the most serious diseases which threatening the production of <italic>Ganoderma lingzhi</italic>. To understand the possible resistance mechanism of the <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> response to <italic>T. hengshanicum</italic> infection, we examined the <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> transcript accumulation at 0, 12, and 24 h after <italic>T. hengshanicum</italic> inoculation. The gene expression analysis was conducted on the interaction between <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> and <italic>T. hengshanicum</italic> using RNA-seq and digital gene expression (DGE) profiling methods. Transcriptome sequencing indicated that there were 162 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at three infection time points, containing 15 up-regulated DEGs and 147 down-regulated DEGs. Resistance-related genes thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) (PR-5s), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, and Beta-1,3-glucan binding protein were significantly up-regulated. At the three time points of infection, the heat shock proteins (HSPs) genes of <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> were down-regulated. The down-regulation of HSPs genes led to the inhibition of HSP function, which may compromise the HSP-mediated defense signaling transduction pathway, leading to <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> susceptibility. Pathway enrichment analyses showed that the main enriched pathways by <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> after infection were sphingolipid metabolism, ether lipid metabolism, and valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation pathway. Overall, the results described here improve fundamental knowledge of molecular responses to <italic>G. lingzhi</italic> defense and contribute to the design of strategies against <italic>Trichoderma</italic> spp.</p>