miRNA mediated cross-kingdom gene expression regulation in cereals and their pathogen, Fusarium graminearum

Abstract

miRNAs have been investigated in many organisms but not everything is clear about fungal miRNAs. Therefore, miRNAs of plant pathogenic fungi have attracted attention in recent years. Several up/down-regulated chemical and pathogen-virulence genes in pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum have been investigated in terms of host plant interactions. The aim of this study was to identify possible fungal miRNAs by performing homology analysis between Fusarium graminearum target genes and plant miRNAs. For this purpose, 25 pathogenicity-virulence related genes and 10 chemical-related genes in the plant pathogen F. graminearum were selected and sequence information was collected from NCBI and FungiDB databases. Identified mature miRNA sequences belonging to Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum and Zea mays were retrieved from miRBase database. Homology analysis was performed between target genes in fungus and plant miRNAs. Moreover, gene network analysis was performed by pathogenicity-virulence related genes and chemical-related genes via STRING (11.5). We determined that 67 miRNAs targeted pathogen-virulence genes, while 18 miRNAs are related to chemical-associated genes. Moreover, 11 miRNAs target genes found in both two classes. miRNAs targeting different pathogen-related genes indicated homology. Correlation was also found among genes as a result of STRING analyses. Thus, miRNA-mediated cross-kingdom gene regulation mechanisms were confirmed. In line with this information, it is thought that new targets can be improved in the fight against Fusarium species, and therefore new epigenetic regulation approaches can be provided for plant species. The development of alternative biological control strategies against Fusarium species in sustainable agriculture practices may be made possible by these findings in conjunction with the application of spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS).