@article{RESEARCH,
      recid = {74512},
      author = {Sáez, Cristina and Flores-León, Alejandro and Montero-Pau,  Javier and Sifres, Alicia and Dhillon, Narinder P. S. and  López, Carmelo and Picó, Belén},
      title = {RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis provides candidate genes  for resistance to tomato leaf curl New Delhi Virus in  melon},
      journal = {FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE},
      address = {2022},
      number = {RESEARCH. WorldVeg Staff Publication},
      abstract = {Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) emerged in the  Mediterranean Basin in 2012 as the first DNA bipartite  begomovirus (Geminiviridae family), causing severe yield  and economic losses in cucurbit crops. A major resistance  locus was identified in the wild melon accession WM-7  (Cucumis melo kachri group), but the mechanisms involved in  the resistant response remained unknown. In this work, we  used RNA-sequencing to identify disease-associated genes  that are differentially expressed in the course of ToLCNDV  infection and could contribute to resistance.  Transcriptomes of the resistant WM-7 genotype and the  susceptible cultivar Piñonet Piel de Sapo (PS) (C. melo  ibericus group) in ToLCNDV and mock inoculated plants were  compared at four time points during infection (0, 3, 6, and  12 days post inoculation). Different gene expression  patterns were observed over time in the resistant and  susceptible genotypes in comparison to their respective  controls. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in  ToLCNDV-infected plants were classified using gene ontology  (GO) terms, and genes of the categories transcription, DNA  replication, and helicase activity were downregulated in  WM-7 but upregulated in PS, suggesting that reduced  activity of these functions reduces ToLCNDV replication and  intercellular spread and thereby contributes to resistance.  DEGs involved in the jasmonic acid signaling pathway,  photosynthesis, RNA silencing, transmembrane, and sugar  transporters entail adverse consequences for systemic  infection in the resistant genotype, and lead to  susceptibility in PS. The expression levels of selected  candidate genes were validated by qRT-PCR to corroborate  their differential expression upon ToLCNDV infection in  resistant and susceptible melon. Furthermore, single  nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) with an effect on structural  functionality of DEGs linked to the main QTLs for ToLCNDV  resistance have been identified. The obtained results  pinpoint cellular functions and candidate genes that are  differentially expressed in a resistant and susceptible  melon line in response to ToLCNDV, an information of great  relevance for breeding ToLCNDV-resistant melon cultivars.},
      url = {http://worldveg.tind.io/record/74512},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.798858},
}