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. 2024 Jun 4;13(11):1551.
doi: 10.3390/plants13111551.

Transcriptomic Profiling of Sugarcane White Leaf (SCWL) Canes during Maturation Phase

Karan Lohmaneeratana  1 , Kantinan Leetanasaksakul  2 , Arinthip Thamchaipenet  1   3
Affiliations

Transcriptomic Profiling of Sugarcane White Leaf (SCWL) Canes during Maturation Phase

Karan Lohmaneeratana et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Sugarcane white leaf (SCWL) disease, caused by Candidatus Phytoplasma sacchari, results in the most damage to sugarcane plantations. Some SCWL canes can grow unnoticed through the maturation phase, subsequently resulting in an overall low sugar yield, or they can be used accidentally as seed canes. In this work, 12-month-old SCWL and asymptomatic canes growing in the same field were investigated. An abundance of phytoplasma in SCWL canes affected growth and sugar content as well as alterations of transcriptomic profiles corresponding to several pathways that responded to the infection. Suppression of photosynthesis, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, coupled with an increase in the expression of chlorophyllase, contributed to the reduction in chlorophyll levels and photosynthesis. Blockage of sucrose transport plausibly occurred due to the expression of sugar transporters in leaves but suppression in stalks, resulting in low sugar content in canes. Increased expression of genes associated with MAPK cascades, plant hormone signaling transduction, callose plug formation, the phenylpropanoid pathway, and calcium cascades positively promoted defense mechanisms against phytoplasma colonization by an accumulation of lignin and calcium in response to plant immunity. Significant downregulation of CPK plausibly results in a reduction in antioxidant enzymes and likely facilitates pathogen invasion, while expression of sesquiterpene biosynthesis possibly attracts the insect vectors for transmission, thereby enabling the spread of phytoplasma. Moreover, downregulation of flavonoid biosynthesis potentially intensifies the symptoms of SCWL upon challenge by phytoplasma. These SCWL sugarcane transcriptomic profiles describe the first comprehensive sugarcane-phytoplasma interaction during the harvesting stage. Understanding molecular mechanisms will allow for sustainable management and the prevention of SCWL disease-a crucial benefit to the sugar industry.

Keywords: biotic stress; phytoplasma; plant defense response; sugarcane white leaf; transcriptome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Principal component analysis (PCA) of gene expression from RNA-seq data of asymptomatic and symptomatic sugarcanes. AS, asymptomatic stalks; SS, symptomatic stalks; AL: asymptomatic leaves; SL, symptomatic leaves. The two principal components determine 93% of the total variance.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of DEGs in each category of KEGG pathways in SCWL leaves and stalks.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top 20 KEGG pathway enrichment of DEGs between SCWL and asymptomatic sugarcanes in leaves (A) and stalks (B). The rich factor is a ratio of the number of DEGs and the total genes. The size and color of the bubble represent the number of DEGs and the p-value, respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of phytoplasma on photosynthesis and chlorophyll metabolism in SCWL sugarcane. Heatmaps of upregulated and downregulated DEGs of porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, photosynthesis, and photosynthesis antenna proteins are shown. Blue arrow, upregulation; red arrow, downregulation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of phytoplasma on sucrose accumulation in SCWL leaves and stalks. Heatmaps of upregulated and downregulated DEGs of sugar transporters, carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, starch and sucrose metabolism are shown. Blue arrow, upregulation; red arrow, downregulation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of phytoplasma on plant–pathogen interaction in SCWL sugarcane leaves and stalks. Heatmaps of upregulated and downregulated DEGs of the plant–pathogen interaction are shown. Blue arrow, upregulation; red arrow, downregulation.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Validation and comparison of randomly selected DEGs of RNA-seq data (white bar) and real-time PCR quantification (black bar) of leaves (A), stalks (B) and correlation coefficients (R2) between RNA-seq and real-time PCR results for differential gene expression in leaves and stalks of asymptomatic and symptomatic sugarcane (C).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Validation and comparison of randomly selected DEGs of RNA-seq data (white bar) and real-time PCR quantification (black bar) of leaves (A), stalks (B) and correlation coefficients (R2) between RNA-seq and real-time PCR results for differential gene expression in leaves and stalks of asymptomatic and symptomatic sugarcane (C).
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