The glutathione S-transferase BnGSTU12 enhances the resistance of Brassica napus to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum through reactive oxygen species homeostasis and jasmonic acid signaling

Jinxiong Xu; Huanhuan Jiang; Qing Cao; Yali Li; Xianjue Kuang; Yulun Wu; Yourong Chai; Jiana Li; Kun Lu; Lijuan Wei

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.109446

The glutathione S-transferase BnGSTU12 enhances the resistance of Brassica napus to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum through reactive oxygen species homeostasis and jasmonic acid signaling

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2024 Dec 24:219:109446. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.109446. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jinxiong Xu¹, Huanhuan Jiang², Qing Cao¹, Yali Li¹, Xianjue Kuang¹, Yulun Wu¹, Yourong Chai¹, Jiana Li¹, Kun Lu³, Lijuan Wei⁴

Affiliations

¹ Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City and Southwest University, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.
² Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City and Southwest University, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China; Oil Research Institute of Guizhou Province, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, China.
³ Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City and Southwest University, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City and Southwest University, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, 400715, China; Engineering Research Center of South Upland Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39731979
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.109446

Abstract

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a severe disease that affects rapeseed (Brassica napus), resulting in significant yield losses. In previous study, we identified the candidate GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE (GST) gene, BnGSTU12, associated with sclerotiorum stem resistance and the expression levels of BnGSTU12 in resistant lines were higher than that in susceptible lines. We analyzed the function of the BnGSTU12 during S. sclerotiorum infection in this study. BnGSTU12 expression was induced by S. sclerotiorum, with a strong increase 24 h after onset of infection. Transgenic functional analysis indicated that overexpression of BnGSTU12 in Arabidopsis thaliana and B. napus enhanced resistance to S. sclerotiorum, whereas BnGSTU12 silencing decreased S. sclerotiorum resistance. The inoculated BnGSTU12-OE A. thaliana and B. napus plants showed higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower H₂O₂ contents than the wild type. As BnGSTU12 was rapidly induced by the phytohormones salicylic acid (SA), ethylene, and methyl jasmonate (MeJA), we investigated the involvement of the JA and SA pathways in GSTU12-mediated S. sclerotiorum resistance. JA content was higher in infected BnGSTU12-OE plants than in the wild type, whereas their SA contents were comparable. In addition, the expression levels of JASMONATE RESISTANT (JAR) involved in JA-Ile biosynthesis and those of JA-responsive genes were higher, the expression of JAZ gene repressing JA signaling was less in OE plants than WT after 12 and 24 h inoculation with S. sclerotiorum. Our results show that BnGSTU12 enhances resistance to S. sclerotiorum through ROS homeostasis and JA signaling.

Keywords: BnGSTU12; JA signaling; ROS homeostasis; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.