AUTHOR=Xu Binjie , Gong Xi , Chen Song , Hu Maolong , Zhang Jiefu , Peng Qi 

TITLE=Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Complex Molecular Mechanisms of Brassica napus–Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Interactions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.716935

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2021.716935

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Sclerotinia stem rot caused by <italic>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</italic> is a devastating disease for many important crops worldwide, including <italic>Brassica napus</italic>. Although numerous studies have been performed on the gene expression changes in <italic>B. napus</italic> and <italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic>, knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms of <italic>B. napus</italic>–<italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic> interactions is limited. Here, we revealed the changes in the gene expression and related pathways in both <italic>B. napus</italic> and <italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic> during the sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) infection process using transcriptome analyses. In total, 1,986, 2,217, and 16,079 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in <italic>B. napus</italic> at 6, 24, and 48 h post-inoculation, respectively, whereas 1,511, 1,208, and 2,051 DEGs, respectively, were identified in <italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic>. The gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses showed that most of the hormone-signaling pathways in <italic>B. napus</italic> were enriched, and thus, the hormone contents at four stages were measured. The DEGs and hormone contents revealed that salicylic acid was activated, while the jasmonic acid pathway was repressed at 24 h post-inoculation. Additionally, the expressional patterns of the cell wall-degrading enzyme-encoding genes in <italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic> and the hydrolytic enzymes in <italic>B. napus</italic> were consistent with the SSR infection process. The results contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between <italic>B. napus</italic> and <italic>S. sclerotiorum</italic> and the development of future preventive measures against SSR.</p>