Location: Peanut and Small Grains Research Unit
Project Number: 3070-21000-010-006-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2026
End Date: Jul 31, 2027
Objective:
To validate the function of the key genes and metabolites in host plant defense against aphids and analyze interactions between aphids and the host plants, leading to improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying aphid resistance in sorghum.
Approach:
We have been studying the response of sorghum plants to aphid infestation at the transcriptional and metabolomic levels. The host plant transcriptomic profiles revealed large number of differentially expressed genes after being attacked by aphids. At the same time, the complemented analysis demonstrated large metabolomic shifts in the host plants in response to aphid infestation, which led to identification of differentially expressed genes and products in resistant vs. susceptible genotypes over time. Thus, in the follow-up study, we will conduct functional validation of the selected candidate genes and key expression products (i.e., metabolites) using multiple-level molecular analysis. Those experiments and analyses include quantitative PCR analysis of candidate genes at the transcription level, biological validation through pathway analysis to determine if they are biologically relevant to plant resistance, confirmation of fragmentation patterns of the metabolites identified from metabolomic analysis, and heterologous expression of the candidate genes in the model plants. We anticipate the results from the integrated process will provide solid support for functional validation of the newly identified genes and metabolites (biological compounds) in plant resistance against aphids. In addition, a parallel study will be conducted to capture and analyze the transcriptomes of two interacting organisms, i.e. sorghum and aphid using dual RNA-seq approach to gain a high-resolution and time resolved view of dynamic interaction between aphids and the host plants. The findings from this simultaneous profiling of gene expression in both organisms will help characterize the intricate molecular mechanisms in host-aphid interactions, improving our understanding of sorghum resistance to the pest.