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ZmAGO18b negatively regulates maize resistance against southern leaf blight

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Abstract

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Here, we report that ZmAGO18b encoding an argonaute protein is a negative regulator of maize resistance against southern leaf blight.

Abstract

Southern leaf blight caused by fungal pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus is a destructive disease on maize throughout the world. Argonaute (AGO) proteins, key regulators in small RNA pathway, play important roles in plant defense. But whether they have function in maize resistance against C. heterostrophus is unknown. Association analysis between the nucleic variation of 18 ZmAGO loci with disease phenotype against C. heterostrophus was performed, and the ZmAGO18b locus was identified to be associated with resistance against C. heterostrophus. Overexpression of ZmAGO18b gene suppresses maize resistance against C. heterostrophus, and mutation of ZmAGO18b enhances maize resistance against C. heterostrophus. Further, we identified the resistant haplotype of ZmAGO18b by association analysis of natural variation in ZmAGO18b genomic DNA sequences with seedling resistance phenotypes against C. heterostrophus and confirmed the resistant haplotype is co-segregated with resistance phenotypes against C. heterostrophus in two F2 populations. In sum, this study reports that ZmAGO18b negatively regulates maize resistance against C. heterostrophus.

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All data generated or analyzed in this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31761143008, 32072007), HZAU-AGIS Cooperation Fund (SZYJY2023017), the fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M721272), and Postdoctoral Creative Research Positions of Hubei Province of China (2022).

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31761143008, 32072007), HZAU-AGIS Cooperation Fund (SZYJY2023017), the fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M721272), and Postdoctoral Creative Research Positions of Hubei Province of China (2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

    Zhikang Dai, Qianhui Yang, Donghai Chen, Bingchen Li, Jiamin Que, Long Hu, Bao Zhang, Zuxin Zhang & Zhibing Lai

  2. Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Bao Zhang, Zuxin Zhang & Zhibing Lai

  3. Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, China

    Kun Chen & Shukuan Zhang

  4. Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Zhibing Lai

  5. Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, 518000, China

    Zhibing Lai

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  1. Zhikang Dai
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Contributions

ZD did GWAS analysis, generated F2 populations, did disease phenotype evaluation, and analyzed data; QY did ZmAGO18b genomic DNA cloning and resequencing; DC, BL, and BZ did the genotyping analysis; JQ did RT-qPCR and generated CRISPR constructs; ZZ helped in experiment design; KC and SZ did field management; ZL directed the project, designed the experiment, and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhibing Lai.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Communicated by Beat Keller.

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Dai, Z., Yang, Q., Chen, D. et al. ZmAGO18b negatively regulates maize resistance against southern leaf blight. Theor Appl Genet 136, 158 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-023-04405-y

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