Recently, the research team of the Sugarcane Stress Biology Group at the Institute of Tropical Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, and the National Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Biotechnology made new progress in studying the mechanisms of sugarcane resistance to black scorch disease. By utilizing temporal gene co-expression network technology, the team systematically analyzed the regulatory network of sugarcane interacting with the black scorch pathogen, identifying two sugarcane ScCAX genes (calcium/hydrogen exchanger genes) that negatively regulate plant disease resistance. This research achievement was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Sugarcane Response to Sequential Gene Co-expression Networks in Black Spot Pathogen Infection
Sugarcane is the most important sugar crop globally, with sucrose accounting for around 80% of the world's sugar production, and over 85% in China. Sugarcane smut, caused by whip smut fungus, is the most significant and widely spread fungal disease in the sugarcane industry. In severe years, it can lead to yield losses of up to 20% to 50%, and in extreme cases, complete crop failure, earning it the moniker "cancer." Its resistance is determined by the cumulative effects of multiple major genes, numerous minor genes, and the interactions between host, pathogen, and environment, making breeding resistant sugarcane varieties through traditional hybridization increasingly challenging.
In recent years, time-series transcriptomics has emerged as an effective method for studying gene regulatory networks, providing valuable insights into plants' dynamic responses to environmental changes. This approach has been widely applied in plants such as barley, cotton, and poplar. However, to date, there have been no reports of this technology being used in the study of sugarcane-black spot pathogen interactions. Therefore, constructing a key metabolic network for sugarcane resistance to black spot disease using Time-series Gene Co-expression Network (TO-GCN) has significant theoretical and practical implications.
This study utilized time-series transcriptomic data from six time points after black spot disease infection in two sugarcane varieties with different resistances to construct a time-series gene co-expression network. Subsequently, metabolic networks such as carbon metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and plant-pathogen interactions were established, predicting regulatory relationships between transcription factors (TFs) and non-TFs within each subnetwork. Additionally, two sugarcane ScCAX genes (calcium/hydrogen exchanger genes) (ScCAX2 and ScCAX3) that negatively regulate plant disease resistance were identified from the Ca2+ (calcium ion) signaling pathway. Finally, a regulatory model for the involvement of sugarcane ScCAX2/3 genes in pathogen stress response was predicted. This research will contribute to further elucidating the mechanisms underlying sugarcane resistance to black spot disease.
This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program, the National Key Laboratory of Tropical Crop Biotechnology, the Central Guiding Local Science and Technology Development Special Project, the National Sugarcane Industry Technology System, and open projects from the Sugarcane Genetic Breeding Key Laboratory of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province.
For more information, please refer to the related paper: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02123
