Glucose sensor MdHXK1 activates an immune response to the fungal pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea in apple

Sugars are essential regulatory molecules involved in plant growth and development and defense response. Although the relationship between sugars and disease resistance has been widely discussed, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unexplored. Ring rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (B. dothidea), which severely affects fruit quality and yield, is a destructive disease of apples (Malus domestica Borkh.). The present study found that the degree of disease resistance in apple fruit was closely related to glucose content. Therefore, the gene encoding a hexokinase, MdHXK1, was isolated from the apple cultivar 'Gala', and characterized during the defense response. Overexpression of MdHXK1 enhanced disease resistance in apple calli, leaves and fruits by increasing the expression levels of genes related to salicylate (SA) synthesis (PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT 4, PAD4; PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA-LYASE, PAL; and ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1, EDS1) and signaling (PR1; PR5; and NONEXPRESSER OF PR GENES 1, NPR1) as well as increasing the superoxide (O^2- ) production rate and the hydrogen peroxide (H₂ O₂ ) content. Overall, the study provides new insights into the MdHXK1-mediated molecular mechanisms by which glucose signaling regulates apple ring rot resistance.