title: Deciphering the transcriptomic response of Fusarium verticillioides in relation to nitrogen availability and the development of sugarcane pokkah boeng disease.
abstract: Pokkah boeng, caused by Fusarium verticillioides, is a serious disease in sugarcane industry. The disease severity is related to the sugarcane genotype as well as environmental considerations, such as nitrogen application. The impact of the nitrogen source (ammonium sulfate, urea, or sodium nitrate) on sugarcane pokkah boeng disease and its pathogen was investigated in planta and fungal growth and sporulation production was measured in vitro. The results showed that ammonium and nitrate were beneficial to fungal mycelium growth, cell densities, and sporulation, which enhanced the disease symptoms of sugarcane pokkah boeng compared to urea fertilization. A total of 1,779 transcripts out of 13,999 annotated genes identified from global transcriptomic analysis were differentially expressed in F. verticillioides CNO-1 grown in the different sources of nitrogen. These were found to be involved in nitrogen metabolism, transport, and assimilation. Many of these genes were also associated with pathogenicity based on the PHI-base database. Several transcription factors were found to be associated with specific biological processes related to nitrogen utilization. Our results further demonstrated that nitrogen availability might play an important role in disease development by increasing fungal cell growth as well as influencing the expression of genes required for successful pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Zhenyue
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Jihua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Yixue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Indian River Research and Education Center, IFAS, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Shiqiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.
authors.forename: Baoshan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agric-Biological Resources, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530005, China.|Indian River Research and Education Center, IFAS, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA.
authors.forename: Muqing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D063990:Gene Ontology; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D031786:Saccharum / Q000382:microbiology; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D009584:Nitrogen