Transcriptional Response of Wolfberry to Infestation with the Endophytic Strain NQ8GII4.

NQ8GII4 is an endophytic fungus isolated from the root of healthy wolfberry (). Previous studies have reported that NQ8GII4 could dwell in wolfberry roots and enhance the defense responses in wolfberry against root rot, which is caused by . To further elucidate the molecular mechanism of wolfberry disease resistance induced by NQ8GII4, in the present study, we adopted RNA sequencing analysis to profile the transcriptome of wolfberry response to NQ8GII4 infestation over a time course of 3 and 7 days postinoculation. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in biological regulation, response to stimulus, signaling, detoxification, immune system process, transporter activity, electron carrier activity, transcription factor activity, nucleic acid binding transcription factor, and antioxidant activity. Through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, it was found that many of these DEGs were enriched in pathways related to plant-pathogen interactions, hormone signal transduction, and the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway in wolfberry. This result suggested that innate immunity, phytohormone signaling, and numerous phenylpropanoid compounds comprise a complex defense network in wolfberry. Chloroplast 50S ribosomal proteins were consistently located at the core position of the response in wolfberry following infestation with NQ8GII4 analyzed by the protein-protein interaction network. This study elucidated the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between NQ8GII4 and wolfberry, clarified the wolfberry immune response network to endophytic fungi infestation, identified candidate resistance genes in wolfberry, and provided a fundamental date for subsequent work.