Discovery of the molecular mechanisms of the novel chalcone-basedMagnaporthe oryzaeinhibitor C1 using transcriptomic profiling and co-expression network analysis.
BACKGROUND
In our previous studies, we discovered a series of chalcone-based phytopathogenic fungus inhibitors. However, knowledge of their effects, detailed targets and molecular mechanisms inMagnaporthe oryzae(M. oryzae) remained limited.


METHODS
To explore the expression and function of differentially expressed genes inM. oryzaeafter treatment with compound C1, we analyzed the expression profile of mRNAs using a microarray analysis and GO, KEGG and WGCNA analysis, followed by qRT-PCR and Western blots to validate our findings.


RESULTS
A total of 1013 up-regulated and 995 down-regulated mRNAs were differentially expressed afterM. oryzaewas treated with C1 compared to those of the control samples. Among these, cytochrome P450, glycylpeptide N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) and peroxisomal membrane protein 4 were identified as the most significant DEGs and were validated by experiments.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, our study suggests that the combination of transcriptomic microarray, bioinformatics analysis and weighted gene co-expression networks can be used to predict potential therapeutic targets and to map the pathways regulated by small molecular natural product-like drugs.
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 China.
Hui
H
Chen
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 China.
Xiaoyun
X
Wang
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 China.
Hong
H
Jin
State Key Laboratory of Oral Disease, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041 China.
Rui
R
Liu
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 China.
Taiping
T
Hou
Gene co-expression network; Magnaporthe oryzae; Molecular docking; Transcriptome