Transcriptome Analysis of Choke Stroma and Asymptomatic Inflorescence Tissues Reveals Changes in Gene Expression in Both <i>Epichloë</i> <i>festucae</i> and Its Host Plant <i>Festuca rubra</i> subsp. <i>rubra</i>

Many cool-season grasses have symbiotic relationships with <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> (Ascomycota, Clavicipitaceae) fungal endophytes that inhabit the intercellular spaces of the above-ground parts of the host plants. The presence of the <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> endophytes is g...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruying Wang, Bruce B. Clarke, Faith C. Belanger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
Series:Microorganisms
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/7/11/567
Description
Summary:Many cool-season grasses have symbiotic relationships with <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> (Ascomycota, Clavicipitaceae) fungal endophytes that inhabit the intercellular spaces of the above-ground parts of the host plants. The presence of the <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> endophytes is generally beneficial to the hosts due to enhanced tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses conferred by the endophytes. Many <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> spp. are asexual, and those infections always remain asymptomatic. However, some <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> spp. have a sexual stage and produce a macroscopic fruiting body, a stroma, that envelops the developing inflorescence causing a syndrome termed &#8220;choke disease&#8221;. Here, we report a fungal and plant gene expression analysis of choke stroma tissue and asymptomatic inflorescence tissue of <i>Epichlo&#235;</i> <i>festucae</i>-infected strong creeping red fescue (<i>Festuca rubra</i> subsp. <i>rubra</i>). Hundreds of fungal genes and over 10% of the plant genes were differentially expressed when comparing the two tissue types. The differentially expressed fungal genes in the choke stroma tissue indicated a change in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, as well as a change in expression of numerous genes for candidate effector proteins. Plant stress-related genes were up-regulated in the stroma tissue, suggesting the plant host was responding to the epiphytic stage of <i>E. festucae</i> as a pathogen.
ISSN:2076-2607