Whole-body transcriptome mining for candidate effectors from Diuraphis noxia
Vittorio F Nicolis1, N Francois V Burger1, Anna-Maria Botha2
1Genetics Department, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa.
BMC Genomics
|July 7, 2022
Summary
Researchers identified potential Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) effector proteins using whole-body transcriptomics. This provides a foundation for understanding aphid-plant interactions and developing control strategies.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Entomology
- Molecular Plant-Insect Interactions
- Transcriptomics
Background:
- Aphid saliva proteins are key effectors in plant-aphid interactions, modulating plant defenses.
- The Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia) causes significant global crop losses.
- Understanding D. noxia effectors is crucial but hindered by its non-model status.
Purpose of the Study:
- To generate a candidate effector catalogue for D. noxia.
- To identify aphid salivary proteins potentially unique to D. noxia.
- To establish a method for effector discovery in non-model aphids.
Main Methods:
- Whole-body transcriptomics data mining for D. noxia.
- Comparative transcriptomics analysis with other aphid species.
- RT-qPCR validation of candidate effector gene expression.
Main Results:
- Identified 725 transcripts encoding putatively secreted proteins.
- Six of seven examined D. noxia effectors (DnE's) showed salivary gland-specific expression.
- Confirmed differential expression and salivary gland specificity for several candidate effectors.
Conclusions:
- A D. noxia effector catalogue was established from whole-transcriptome data.
- Salivary-specific and potentially unique D. noxia sequences were identified.
- Comparative transcriptomics enables effector discovery in understudied aphid species.
Keywords:
Aphid-plant interactionDiuraphis noxiaDnE’sEffectorsSalivary gland transcriptome miningTriticum aestivum
