Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Department of Molecular Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
Plant Cell Environ. 2021 Mar;44(3):982-994. doi: 10.1111/pce.13952. Epub 2020 Dec 1.
Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) are important regulators of many biological processes in plants, including defence against pathogens; whether lncRNAs mediate defence against herbivore attack is yet to be explored. With wild tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata, and its well-characterized interactions with herbivores, we identified a total of 1,290 significantly up- or down-regulated lncRNAs in response to a precise herbivore elicitation treatment. Of these, long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) were the most abundant. Based on their expression patterns, these up-regulated lincRNAs were classified as early (<1 hr) or late (>3 hr) responders. The early responding lincRNAs had accumulation patterns that tracked the herbivore-elicited burst of bioactive jasmonates (JAs) and the expression of regulator genes in JA signalling which regulate plant defences against herbivores. Silencing two of these early responders in N. attenuata (JAL1 and JAL3) significantly attenuated the accumulation of JAs, JA-mediated defensives and the plant's resistance to M. sexta attack, suggesting roles in regulating JA-mediated plant defence. By lincRNA sequencing of JA-deficient lines, many late responder lincRNAs were found to be transcriptionally regulated by JA signalling. This study uncovers a new role of lncRNAs in JA-mediated herbivore resistance.
长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）是植物中许多生物过程的重要调节因子，包括对病原体的防御；lncRNA 是否介导对草食性动物攻击的防御作用尚未得到探索。本研究利用野生烟草 Nicotiana attenuata 及其与草食性动物相互作用的特点，鉴定了总共 1290 个在受到精确的草食性动物激发处理后上调或下调的 lncRNA。其中，长基因间非编码 RNA（lincRNA）最为丰富。基于其表达模式，这些上调的 lincRNA 被分为早期（<1 小时）或晚期（>3 小时）响应者。早期响应的 lincRNA 的积累模式与草食性动物激发的生物活性茉莉酸（JAs）爆发以及 JA 信号转导中调节植物防御草食性动物的调控基因的表达相吻合。在 N. attenuata 中沉默两个早期响应者（JAL1 和 JAL3）显著减弱了 JAs、JA 介导的防御物质以及植物对 M. sexta 攻击的抗性的积累，表明它们在调节 JA 介导的植物防御中起作用。通过 JA 缺陷型系的 lincRNA 测序，发现许多晚期响应者 lincRNA 的转录受到 JA 信号的调控。本研究揭示了 lncRNA 在 JA 介导的抗草食性动物中的新作用。
