The -Specific Truncated NLR Protein CbCN Enhances the Innate Immunity against .

Chili pepper () is an important fruit and spice used globally, but its yield is seriously threatened by anthracnose. is particularly valuable as it carries advantageous disease resistance genes. However, most of the genes remain to be identified. In this study, we identified the -specific gene , which encodes a truncated nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat protein in the anthracnose resistant chili pepper variety PBC80. The transcription of was greater in PBC80 than it was in the susceptible variety An-S after inoculation. In order to investigate the biological function of CbCN, we generated transgenic tobacco lines constitutively expressing . Notably, -overexpressing transgenic plants exhibited enhanced resistance to compared to wild-type plants. Moreover, the expression of pathogenesis-related () genes was remarkably increased in a -overexpressing tobacco plants. In order to confirm these results in chili pepper, we silenced the gene using the virus-induced gene silencing system. The anthracnose resistance and expressions of , , and were significantly reduced in -silenced chili peppers after inoculations. These results indicate that CbCN enhances the innate immunity against anthracnose caused by by regulating defense response genes.