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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Soybean Genomics & Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311516
Title: Regulatory interplay between soybean root and soybean cyst nematode during a resistant and susceptible reaction

Author
item HOSSEINI, P - National Institutes Of Health (NIH)
item Matthews, Benjamin - Ben

Submitted to: BMC Plant Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/22/2014
Publication Date: 11/25/2014
Citation: Hosseini, P., Matthews, B.F. 2014. Regulatory interplay between soybean root and soybean cyst nematode during a resistant and susceptible reaction. Biomed Central (BMC) Plant Biology. 14:300.

Interpretive Summary: The soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the most destructive pathogen of soybean in the US. Currently grown soybean varieties are not resistant to all field populations of SCN. We examined the DNA sequence that controls the expression of each gene in soybean to identify specific, conserved sequences regulating expression. To do this, we developed a computer program to analyze DNA sequences for specific, conserved DNA sequences. We identified several DNA sequences that are found frequently in soybean genes expressed in soybean roots resistant to SCN, but are not found in genes expressed in susceptible roots. These sequence may be useful in controlling gene expression in plants genetically engineered to have resistance to SCN. This information is important to scientists interested in developing genetically engineered soybean roots with increased resistance to SCN.

Technical Abstract: Background: Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are obligate parasites that feed on the roots of living host plants. Often, these nematodes can lay hundreds of eggs, each capable of surviving in the soil for as long as 12 years. When it comes to wreaking havoc on agricultural yield, few nematodes can compare to the soybean cyst nematode (SCN). Quantifying soybean (Glycine max) transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) during a late stage SCN resistant and susceptible reaction can therefore shed light onto the systematic interplay between host and pathogen. Results: We sequenced and quantitated the soybean root transcriptome over the course of 6 and 8 days upon inoculation with resistant and susceptible SCN races. Genes such as beta-1,4- glucanase, chalcone synthase, superoxide dismutase, and various heat shock proteins (HSPs) exhibited race specific expression profiles. Several likely defense response genes candidates were also identified which are believed to confer SCN resistance. To explore magnitude of TFBS representation during SCN pathogenesis, a multivariate statistical software identified 46 over-represented TFBSs which capture reaction-specific regulatory dynamics. Conclusions: Our results reveal a set of soybean TFBSs which are over-represented solely throughout a resistant and susceptible SCN reaction. This set provides a regulatory signature to assist in better modeling cis regulatory dynamics in soybean roots during SCN pathogenesis.