The Gossypium hirsutum TIR-NBS-LRR gene GhDSC1 mediates resistance against Verticillium wilt

Authors: LI, TING-GANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WANG, BAO-LI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; YIN, CHUN-MEI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, DAN-DAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WANG, DAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; SONG, JIAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHOU, LEI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; KONG, ZHI-QIANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Klosterman, Steven; LI, JUN-JIAO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ADAMU, SABIU - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LIU, TING-LI - Jiangsu Academy Agricultural Sciences; SUBBARAO, KRISHNA - University Of California; CHEN, JIE-YIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; DAI, XIAO-FENG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Molecular Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2019
Publication Date: 4/8/2019
Citation: Li, T., Wang, B., Yin, C., Zhang, D., Wang, D., Song, J., Zhou, L., Kong, Z., Klosterman, S.J., Li, J., Adamu, S., Liu, T., Subbarao, K.V., Chen, J., Dai, X. 2019. The Gossypium hirsutum TIR-NBS-LRR gene GhDSC1 mediates resistance against Verticillium wilt. Molecular Plant Pathology. 20(6):857-876. https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12797.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mpp.12797

Interpretive Summary: Verticillium dahliae is a pathogenic fungus that causes Verticillium wilt disease on dozens of economically important crops. This research investigated the genetic basis for Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton. One gene in particular, named GhDSC1, bears similarities to plant genes involved in resistance to plant pathogens, and represented a candidate gene for conferring resistance to Verticillium. This research revealed that the expression of this gene is responsive to Verticillium infection and the DNA sequence analysis revealed a consistent small difference between resistant and susceptible cotton that correlated with either resistance or susceptibility. The expression of GhDSC1 in Arabidopsis that was mutated in its homolog of GhDSC1, also conferred resistance to Verticillium. Identification of these genes the confer Verticillium resistance is helpful to more quickly develop disease resistant plants.

Technical Abstract: Improving genetic resistance is the preferred method to manage Verticillium wilt of cotton, but identifying this resistance is difficult due to the dearth of resistance genes with known roles against this pathogen. Previously, a novel candidate gene involved in Verticillium wilt resistance was identified by a genome-wide association study using a panel of Gossypium hirsutum accessions. In this study, we cloned a candidate resistance gene encoding a protein that shares homology with the TIR-NB-LRR receptor-like defense protein DSC1 in Arabidopsis thaliana (hereafter named GhDSC1). GhDSC1 was expressed at higher levels in response to Verticillium wilt and JA treatment in resistant cotton cultivars as compared to susceptible cultivars and its product was localized to the cell nucleus. Interfamily transfer of GhDSC1 conferred Verticillium resistance in an Arabidopsis dsc1 mutant by mediating responses of ROS accumulation and increased expression of JA-signaling related genes. Moreover, the expression of GhDSC1 in response to Verticillium wilt and JA signaling in Arabidopsis displayed similarities to the expression pattern of GhCAMTA3 in cotton under similar conditions, suggestive of synergistic interaction of DSC1 and CAMTA3 in Arabidopsis. Sequence polymorphism analysis of GhDSC1 revealed one SNP between resistant and susceptible cotton accessions, within the P-loop motif encoded by GhDSC1. The SNP resulted in an ineffective activation of defense responses in susceptible cultivars. Thus, our results demonstrated that GhDSC1 is functional, conferring Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton. This attribute of GhDSC1 makes it a suitable candidate for molecular breeding of Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton.