Li Chuanzong, Zhang Guoshuai, Cheng Guanfu, Wang Qi
Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
Institute of Plant Protection, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830091, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 22;26(11):4983. doi: 10.3390/ijms26114983.
Verticillium wilt (VW), induced by the soil-borne fungus , represents a significant threat to global cotton production. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is an essential enzyme in lignin metabolism that helps plants defend themselves against pathogenic fungal. Nonetheless, its role in imparting resistance to in cotton required further investigation. This study identified the (GH_D04G1247) as a crucial gene in cotton resistance to via RNA-seq analysis, demonstrating significant upregulation in the resistant variety Xinluzao84. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the conserved evolutionary relationship of GhPAL9 with PAL homologs across various species and highlighted stress-responsive cis-elements in its promoter region. The expression of was rapidly activated in roots, stems, and leaves following infection with , peaking between 2 and 8 h post inoculation (hpi). Silencing through virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology intensified disease symptoms, elevated relative fungal biomass, and diminished lignin accumulation, thereby affirming its function in cotton resistance to . The overexpression of in improved resistance to , and the OE- transgenic lines demonstrated reduced disease severity and diminished relative fungal biomass. The results gave us new information about how VW resistance at the molecular level, which established that acted as a positive regulator to increase resistance to VW via lignin accumulation.
黄萎病（VW）由土壤传播的真菌引起，对全球棉花生产构成重大威胁。苯丙氨酸解氨酶（PAL）是木质素代谢中的一种关键酶，有助于植物抵御病原真菌。然而，其在赋予棉花抗黄萎病能力方面的作用仍需进一步研究。本研究通过RNA测序分析确定GhPAL9（GH_D04G1247）是棉花抗黄萎病的关键基因，在抗病品种新陆早84中显著上调。生物信息学分析揭示了GhPAL9与不同物种中PAL同源物的保守进化关系，并突出了其启动子区域的胁迫响应顺式元件。接种黄萎病菌后，GhPAL9在根、茎和叶中的表达迅速激活，在接种后2至8小时达到峰值。通过病毒诱导基因沉默（VIGS）技术沉默GhPAL9会加剧病害症状，提高相对真菌生物量，并减少木质素积累，从而证实其在棉花抗黄萎病中的作用。在拟南芥中过表达GhPAL9可提高对黄萎病菌的抗性，过表达转基因株系的病害严重程度降低，相对真菌生物量减少。这些结果为我们提供了关于棉花抗黄萎病分子水平的新信息，确定GhPAL9通过木质素积累作为增加对黄萎病抗性的正调控因子。
