title: Identification and characterization of microRNAs in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) responsive to infection with the pathogenic fungus Verticillium longisporum using Brassica AA (Brassica rapa) and CC (Brassica oleracea) as reference genomes.
abstract: Verticillium longisporum, a soil-borne pathogenic fungus, causes vascular disease in oilseed rape (Brassica napus). We proposed that plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the plant-V. longisporum interaction. To identify oilseed rape miRNAs, we deep-sequenced two small RNA libraries made from V. longisporum infected/noninfected roots and employed Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea genomes as references for miRNA prediction and characterization. We identified 893 B. napus miRNAs representing 360 conserved and 533 novel miRNAs, and mapped 429 and 464 miRNAs to the AA and CC genomes, respectively. Microsynteny analysis with the conserved miRNAs and their flanking protein coding sequences revealed 137 AA-CC genome syntenic miRNA pairs and 61 AA and 42 CC genome-unique miRNAs. Sixty-two miRNAs were responsive to the V. longisporum infection. We present data for specific interactions and simultaneously reciprocal changes in the expression levels of the miRNAs and their targets in the infected roots. We demonstrate that miRNAs are involved in the plant-fungus interaction and that miRNA168-Argonaute 1 (AGO1) expression modulation might act as a key regulatory module in a compatible plant-V. longisporum interaction. Our results suggest that V. longisporum may have evolved a virulence mechanism by interference with plant miRNAs to reprogram plant gene expression and achieve infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Biotechnology, Institute of Phytopathology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Hermann Rodewald Str. 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Biotechnology, Institute of Phytopathology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Hermann Rodewald Str. 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Suhrkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences & Institute of Bioinformatics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430062, China.
authors.forename: Shenyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Biotechnology, Institute of Phytopathology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Hermann Rodewald Str. 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menkhaus
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Biotechnology, Institute of Phytopathology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Hermann Rodewald Str. 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Joseph-Alexander
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Verreet
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences & Institute of Bioinformatics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Longjiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Phytopathology and Biotechnology, Institute of Phytopathology, Christian Albrechts University of Kiel, Hermann Rodewald Str. 9, D-24118, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Daguang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D001937:Brassica / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000276:immunology; D018745:Genome, Plant; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D020172:Verticillium / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: Brassica napus; Verticillium longisporum; miR168-AGO1; microRNAs; plant-fungus interaction