title: Changes in the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum transcriptome during infection of Brassica napus.
abstract: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes stem rot in Brassica napus, which leads to lodging and severe yield losses. Although recent studies have explored significant progress in the characterization of individual S. sclerotiorum pathogenicity factors, a gap exists in profiling gene expression throughout the course of S. sclerotiorum infection on a host plant. In this study, RNA-Seq analysis was performed with focus on the events occurring through the early (1 h) to the middle (48 h) stages of infection.
  
  
  
  Transcript analysis revealed the temporal pattern and amplitude of the deployment of genes associated with aspects of pathogenicity or virulence during the course of S. sclerotiorum infection on Brassica napus. These genes were categorized into eight functional groups: hydrolytic enzymes, secondary metabolites, detoxification, signaling, development, secreted effectors, oxalic acid and reactive oxygen species production. The induction patterns of nearly all of these genes agreed with their predicted functions. Principal component analysis delineated gene expression patterns that signified transitions between pathogenic phases, namely host penetration, ramification and necrotic stages, and provided evidence for the occurrence of a brief biotrophic phase soon after host penetration.
  
  
  
  The current observations support the notion that S. sclerotiorum deploys an array of factors and complex strategies to facilitate host colonization and mitigate host defenses. This investigation provides a broad overview of the sequential expression of virulence/pathogenicity-associated genes during infection of B. napus by S. sclerotiorum and provides information for further characterization of genes involved in the S. sclerotiorum-host plant interactions.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada.|Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seifbarghi
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada.
authors.forename: M Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Borhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: Yangdou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coutu
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X2, Canada. Dwayne.Hegedus@agr.gc.ca.|Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Dwayne.Hegedus@agr.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Dwayne D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Hegedus
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics*; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D064210:Secondary Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D059467:Transcriptome; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D018749:RNA, Plant
keywords: Brassica napus; Effectors; Hydrolytic enzymes; Infection; Necrosis; Oxalic acid; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum; Secondary metabolites; Transcriptome