Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305254
Title: Transcriptional responses of tolerant and susceptible soybeans to soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) herbivory

Author
item PROCHASKA, TRAVIS - University Of Nebraska
item DONZE-REINER, TERESA - University Of Nebraska
item Palmer, Nathan - Nate
item HENG-MOSS, TIFFANY - University Of Nebraska
item HUNT, THOMAS - University Of Nebraska
item Sarath, Gautam

Submitted to: Arthropod-Plant Interactions
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/16/2015
Publication Date: 8/1/2015
Citation: Prochaska, T., Donze-Reiner, T., Palmer, N.A., Heng-Moss, T.M., Hunt, T., Sarath, G. 2015. Transcriptional responses of tolerant and susceptible soybeans to soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) herbivory. Arthropod-Plant Interactions. 9:347-359.

Interpretive Summary: The soybean aphid is among the most important soybean pests. Aphid feeding has been estimated to cost producers millions of dollars in losses. Improving the resistance of soybean to the soybean aphid has therefore become an important target for breeding programs. Plants can possess a type of insect-resistance called tolerance. In the tolerant response, plants do not have a negative impact on aphids, but are able to compensate for damage through enhanced cellular mechanisms that confer resistance. Exploitation of the tolerance response within a plant breeding program provides germplasm that can be utilized to minimize the use of pesticides and limit the pace at which resistance is evolved in the target pests. Molecular understanding of the tolerance response can provide information on the cellular processes that underlie this important trait. Here, very large scale DNA sequencing technology (also known as next generation sequencing) was used to differentiate the tolerance response in a select genotype of soybean by comparing changes at the molecular level with a susceptible soybean genotype under soybean aphid pressure. Tolerant plants activated more genes associated with plant defense responses, and also appeared to have a higher activity of these genes before infestation by aphids as compared to the aphid-susceptible plants. These data indicate that the tolerant genotype expresses genes of use in breeding programs.

Technical Abstract: The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, was introduced in 2000 to North America and has become one of the most significant pests to soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, production. Possible solutions to this problem are the use of resistant plants and the understanding of the genes involved in plant resistance. In this study, we sought to better understand the genes involved in the tolerance response of soybean plants to the soybean aphid, utilizing tolerant (KS4202) and susceptible (K-03-4686) plants. Studies were conducted under greenhouse conditions. Leaf samples of both tolerant and susceptible plants were collected at day 5 and day 15 after infestation and analyzed by sequencing-by-synthesis on an Illumina GA II X instrument. In the tolerant genotype, 3 and 36 genes were found to be differentially expressed in the infested plants compared to the control treatments at day 5 and day 15, respectively. A similar comparison in the susceptible genotype revealed 0 and 11 genes to be differentially expressed at day 5 and day 15, respectively. Predominately, genes related to plant defense, such as WRKY transcription factors, peroxidases and cytochrome p450s were upregulated in the tolerant genotype 15 days post-infestation by aphids. In contrast, none of these genes were similarly upregulated in the susceptible plants, suggesting that consistent elevation of defense responses is important to plant tolerance. However, significant genotypic differences in global gene expression were also found when transcriptomes from control uninfested plants were compared at both day 5 and 15. These comparisons indicate that potentially broader regulation of transcriptomes also contributes to the tolerance response, and provide data that the tolerant genotype (KS4202) could be useful in soybean breeding programs trying to minimize production losses accruing from soybean aphid feeding.