Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study
Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) is a serious disease for the citrus industry. Earlier studies showed that ampicillin (Amp) can reduce titers of the pathogen which causes HLB and the bacteria <i>Candidatus</i> Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in HLB-affected citrus. CLas has not yet been cultured...
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/6/1356 |
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| author | Chuanyu Yang Charles Powell Yongping Duan Xiongjie Lin Goucheng Fan Hanqing Hu Muqing Zhang |
| author_facet | Chuanyu Yang Charles Powell Yongping Duan Xiongjie Lin Goucheng Fan Hanqing Hu Muqing Zhang |
| author_sort | Chuanyu Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) is a serious disease for the citrus industry. Earlier studies showed that ampicillin (Amp) can reduce titers of the pathogen which causes HLB and the bacteria <i>Candidatus</i> Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in HLB-affected citrus. CLas has not yet been cultured, so the mechanisms of Amp against CLas are unclear. Some chemicals were demonstrated to trigger citrus defense systems against CLas. Therefore, we hypothesize that Amp may induce citrus defenses against CLas. Here we applied three nano-formulations of varying droplet sizes to HLB-affected citrus to achieve different accumulated concentrations of Amp (high, medium, low) in the plants. We then used RNA-seq to analyze induction of gene expression of citrus defense systems against CLas in response to different concentrations of Amp. The results indicated that at all accumulated concentrations of Amp can significantly suppress CLas titer and mitigate HLB symptoms. Transcriptomic analyses showed that Amp treatment induced expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in HLB-affected citrus, and these Hsps were significantly related to several defense genes encoding R proteins, transcription factors, splicing factors, RNA-binding proteins, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, Gibberellic acid methyltransferase 2, L-ascorbate peroxidase 2, and ferruginol synthase that confer tolerance to CLas in citrus plants. Taken together, these results suggest that Amp treatment of citrus plants can trigger expression of Hsps and related defense genes to respond to CLas infection. These findings are valuable for developing novel strategies to combat citrus HLB. |
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| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:39:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
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| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-ffb3d7a22365449c8141c678e5ecae612023-11-23T15:10:22ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-06-01126135610.3390/agronomy12061356Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics StudyChuanyu Yang0Charles Powell1Yongping Duan2Xiongjie Lin3Goucheng Fan4Hanqing Hu5Muqing Zhang6IRREC-IFAS, University of Florida, 2199 S. Rock Rd, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USAIRREC-IFAS, University of Florida, 2199 S. Rock Rd, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USAUSHRL-USDA-ARS, 2011 S. Rock Rd, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USAInstitute of Fruit Tree Research, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350003, ChinaInstitute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350003, ChinaInstitute of Fruit Tree Research, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350003, ChinaIRREC-IFAS, University of Florida, 2199 S. Rock Rd, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USACitrus Huanglongbing (HLB) is a serious disease for the citrus industry. Earlier studies showed that ampicillin (Amp) can reduce titers of the pathogen which causes HLB and the bacteria <i>Candidatus</i> Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in HLB-affected citrus. CLas has not yet been cultured, so the mechanisms of Amp against CLas are unclear. Some chemicals were demonstrated to trigger citrus defense systems against CLas. Therefore, we hypothesize that Amp may induce citrus defenses against CLas. Here we applied three nano-formulations of varying droplet sizes to HLB-affected citrus to achieve different accumulated concentrations of Amp (high, medium, low) in the plants. We then used RNA-seq to analyze induction of gene expression of citrus defense systems against CLas in response to different concentrations of Amp. The results indicated that at all accumulated concentrations of Amp can significantly suppress CLas titer and mitigate HLB symptoms. Transcriptomic analyses showed that Amp treatment induced expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in HLB-affected citrus, and these Hsps were significantly related to several defense genes encoding R proteins, transcription factors, splicing factors, RNA-binding proteins, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, Gibberellic acid methyltransferase 2, L-ascorbate peroxidase 2, and ferruginol synthase that confer tolerance to CLas in citrus plants. Taken together, these results suggest that Amp treatment of citrus plants can trigger expression of Hsps and related defense genes to respond to CLas infection. These findings are valuable for developing novel strategies to combat citrus HLB.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/6/1356Citrus Huanglongbingampicillinplant defenseplant inducerheat shock protein |
| spellingShingle | Chuanyu Yang Charles Powell Yongping Duan Xiongjie Lin Goucheng Fan Hanqing Hu Muqing Zhang Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study Agronomy Citrus Huanglongbing ampicillin plant defense plant inducer heat shock protein |
| title | Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study |
| title_full | Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study |
| title_fullStr | Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study |
| title_short | Key Role of Heat Shock Protein Expression Induced by Ampicillin in Citrus Defense against Huanglongbing: A Transcriptomics Study |
| title_sort | key role of heat shock protein expression induced by ampicillin in citrus defense against huanglongbing a transcriptomics study |
| topic | Citrus Huanglongbing ampicillin plant defense plant inducer heat shock protein |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/6/1356 |
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