Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) infect many annual and perennial crops and are the most devastating soil-born pests in vineyards. To develop a biotech-based solution for controlling RKNs in grapes, we evaluated the efficacy of plant-derived RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of a conserved RKN effector ge...

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Main Authors: Yingzhen Yang, Yingyos Jittayasothorn, Demosthenis Chronis, Xiaohong Wang, Peter Cousins, Gan-Yuan Zhong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3712915?pdf=render
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author Yingzhen Yang
Yingyos Jittayasothorn
Demosthenis Chronis
Xiaohong Wang
Peter Cousins
Gan-Yuan Zhong
author_facet Yingzhen Yang
Yingyos Jittayasothorn
Demosthenis Chronis
Xiaohong Wang
Peter Cousins
Gan-Yuan Zhong
author_sort Yingzhen Yang
collection DOAJ
description Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) infect many annual and perennial crops and are the most devastating soil-born pests in vineyards. To develop a biotech-based solution for controlling RKNs in grapes, we evaluated the efficacy of plant-derived RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of a conserved RKN effector gene, 16D10, for nematode resistance in transgenic grape hairy roots. Two hairpin-based silencing constructs, containing a stem sequence of 42 bp (pART27-42) or 271 bp (pART27-271) of the 16D10 gene, were transformed into grape hairy roots and compared for their small interfering RNA (siRNA) production and efficacy on suppression of nematode infection. Transgenic hairy root lines carrying either of the two RNAi constructs showed less susceptibility to nematode infection compared with control. Small RNA libraries from four pART27-42 and two pART27-271 hairy root lines were sequenced using an Illumina sequencing technology. The pART27-42 lines produced hundred times more 16D10-specific siRNAs than the pART27-271 lines. On average the 16D10 siRNA population had higher GC content than the 16D10 stem sequences in the RNAi constructs, supporting previous observation that plant dicer-like enzymes prefer GC-rich sequences as substrates for siRNA production. The stems of the 16D10 RNAi constructs were not equally processed into siRNAs. Several hot spots for siRNA production were found in similar positions of the hairpin stems in pART27-42 and pART27-271. Interestingly, stem sequences at the loop terminus produced more siRNAs than those at the stem base. Furthermore, the relative abundance of guide and passenger single-stranded RNAs from putative siRNA duplexes was largely correlated with their 5' end thermodynamic strength. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using a plant-derived RNAi approach for generation of novel nematode resistance in grapes and revealed several interesting molecular characteristics of transgene siRNAs important for optimizing plant RNAi constructs.
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spelling doaj.art-ace36c3dc7b74cf19c0577a69baa24a02022-12-22T03:38:17ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0187e6946310.1371/journal.pone.0069463Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.Yingzhen YangYingyos JittayasothornDemosthenis ChronisXiaohong WangPeter CousinsGan-Yuan ZhongRoot-knot nematodes (RKNs) infect many annual and perennial crops and are the most devastating soil-born pests in vineyards. To develop a biotech-based solution for controlling RKNs in grapes, we evaluated the efficacy of plant-derived RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of a conserved RKN effector gene, 16D10, for nematode resistance in transgenic grape hairy roots. Two hairpin-based silencing constructs, containing a stem sequence of 42 bp (pART27-42) or 271 bp (pART27-271) of the 16D10 gene, were transformed into grape hairy roots and compared for their small interfering RNA (siRNA) production and efficacy on suppression of nematode infection. Transgenic hairy root lines carrying either of the two RNAi constructs showed less susceptibility to nematode infection compared with control. Small RNA libraries from four pART27-42 and two pART27-271 hairy root lines were sequenced using an Illumina sequencing technology. The pART27-42 lines produced hundred times more 16D10-specific siRNAs than the pART27-271 lines. On average the 16D10 siRNA population had higher GC content than the 16D10 stem sequences in the RNAi constructs, supporting previous observation that plant dicer-like enzymes prefer GC-rich sequences as substrates for siRNA production. The stems of the 16D10 RNAi constructs were not equally processed into siRNAs. Several hot spots for siRNA production were found in similar positions of the hairpin stems in pART27-42 and pART27-271. Interestingly, stem sequences at the loop terminus produced more siRNAs than those at the stem base. Furthermore, the relative abundance of guide and passenger single-stranded RNAs from putative siRNA duplexes was largely correlated with their 5' end thermodynamic strength. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using a plant-derived RNAi approach for generation of novel nematode resistance in grapes and revealed several interesting molecular characteristics of transgene siRNAs important for optimizing plant RNAi constructs.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3712915?pdf=render
spellingShingle Yingzhen Yang
Yingyos Jittayasothorn
Demosthenis Chronis
Xiaohong Wang
Peter Cousins
Gan-Yuan Zhong
Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
PLoS ONE
title Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
title_full Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
title_fullStr Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
title_full_unstemmed Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
title_short Molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16D10 siRNAs in inhibiting root-knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots.
title_sort molecular characteristics and efficacy of 16d10 sirnas in inhibiting root knot nematode infection in transgenic grape hairy roots
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3712915?pdf=render
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