Evaluation of transcriptomic Zea mays changes of Fusarium verticillioides infected with RNASeq
Authors: pesaraklu sakineh , soltanloo hassan , ramezanpour sanas , mosavat Afshin , tavakol elaheh 
Published: January 2024

Fusarium verticillioides corn disease is one of the most important and damaging diseases in most corn fields of the world that is exacerbated by dry weather and climate. Disease control by chemical and agronomic methods is often ineffective and increases production costs, For this reason, hosting resistance is the best sustainable and tolerable way to reduce losses. Given the importance of this plant and the need for carefull study of the genes involved in tolerating the disease, it seems necessary to obtain more accurate and complete information on genomics and transcriptomies. In this study, transcriptome analysis of two tolerance C7 and MO17 susceptible genotypes in response to F.verticillioides was performed using RNA-Seq technology and Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencing system. More than 100 million sequences were obtained under controlled and treated conditions in two genotypes and the level of gene expression was assessed. As a result of transcriptum analysis, and a total of 5117 genes with significant differential expression were identified. After inoculation with F. verticillioides, a similar response was observed in both genotypes, but the severity of these changes was higher in the tolerated genotype. The highest increase in the differential expression level of genes is in genotype C7, which is enriched with 256 active in the defense pathway, such as serine / threonine kinases, protein kinases, signal transduction and peroxidases, expression of these genes indicates activation of the PTI defense pathway induced after Fusarium contamination of the grain. Also, genes active in nitrogen metabolism, terpene biosynthesis, aspartate and cinnamoacid metabolism were among the genes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, showing significant differential expression in the C7 parent. In comparison of two genotypes, 75 transcription factors with differential expression were identified in 96 hours after inoculation the highest number were related to protein kinases also, the highest response related to messaging pathways such as WRKY, MYB and NAC transcription factor and ethylene-related defense response were identified. According to the results of analysis of biological pathways and identification of 85 metabolic pathways, in two comparisons of metabolic pathways, secondary metabolites of biosynthesis pathways of terpenoids, flavonoids, energy and carbohydrate metabolism, signal hormones and phenylpropanoid pathway were expressed in C7 genotype with the most genotypes therefore, the secondary metabolite can be the center of the defense response against F. verticillioides infection. The results of qRT-PCR experiments showed a very high diversity in the expression of different genes in two susceptible and tolerant parents of F. verticillioides and was observed in grain tissue and silk, both parents responded defensively to the pathogen and the difference is in the amount of expression of these genes, Also, the results of gene expression tests were consistent with the results of RNA-Seq, which indicates the high accuracy of this method in transcriptome analysis.