Abstract
The molecular mechanism of pomegranate susceptibility to bacterial blight, a serious threat to pomegranate production in India, is largely unknown. In the current study, we have used PacBio and Illumina sequencing of Xanthomonas citri pv. punicae (Xcp) strain 119 genome to identify tal genes and RNA-Seq analysis to identify putative host targets in the susceptible pomegranate variety Bhagwa challenged with Xcp119. Xcp119 genome encodes seven transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs), three of which are harbored by a plasmid. RVD-based phylogenetic analysis of TALEs of Xanthomonas citri pathovars indicate the TALEs of Xcp as evolutionarily and functionally close to Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum and Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines. Comparative RNA-Seq of Xcp and mock-inoculated leaf tissues revealed Xcp-induced pomegranate transcription modulation. The prediction of TALE binding elements (EBEs) in the promoters of up-regulated genes identified a set of TALE-targeted candidate genes in pomegranate–Xcp interaction. The predicted candidate susceptibility genes include two oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase gene, ethylene-responsive transcription factor and flavanone 3-hydroxylase-like gene, and the further characterization of these would enable blight resistance engineering in pomegranate.
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Funding
This research received funding from the Central University of Kerala (internal funding), University grants commission, Government of India BSR grant (No. F. 30–31/2014) and Department of Biotechnology award (BT/PR32159/AGIII/103/1133/2019) to G.A. S.S was awarded CSIR-Junior Research Fellowship.
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Conceptualization, GA: methodology, GA: formal analysis, GA, SS, DK, and KA: investigation, GA, SS, DK, and KA: resources, JS and TG: data curation, GA: writing—original draft preparation, GA, SS, DK, and KA: writing—review and editing, GA, TG, JS: visualization, SS, DK, and KA: supervision, TG and GA: project administration, GA: funding acquisition, GA. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Sivaraman, S., Krishnamoorthy, D., Arvind, K. et al. TAL effectors and the predicted host targets of pomegranate bacterial blight pathogen Xanthomonas citri pv. punicae. Curr Genet 68, 361–373 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-022-01232-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-022-01232-4