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Forests
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Molecular Mechanism of Forest Tree Defense against Pathogens and Pests
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Molecular Mechanism of Forest Tree Defense against Pathogens and Pests

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 1883

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jun-Jun Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada
Interests: genomics-based tree breeding; forest genetics of disease/pest resistance; conifer genomics; molecular tree-microbe interactions; genomics of fungal virulence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest pathogens and pests hamper tree growth and development, forestry productivity, and the international trade of wood products. Like other plants, trees have evolved a complex set of defense mechanisms for survival and reproduction in forest ecosystems. In response to biotic stressors, plants defend themselves through various physical, morphological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms. The molecular defense response is initially activated by pathogen-/damage-associated molecular pattern (PAMP/DAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) or effector-triggered immunity (ETI), depending on the genotypes of hosts and pathogens/pests.

These molecular interactions between hosts and pathogens/pests activate signalling networks, and result in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), defense-responsive proteins (such as anti-microbial peptides and pathogenesis-related proteins), and secondary metabolites. Unlike annual plants, trees do not die from genetically programmed senescence. However, trees are subjected to repeated attacks from pathogens/pests during their long lifespan and can be killed by various forest diseases. In addition to the defense processes highly conserved in all plants, trees have equipped themselves with other specific defensive machineries, such as protective structures consisting of bark and defensive chemicals specific to wood tissues. The current knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying trees’ physical, morphological, and biochemical defenses, as well as host resistance or susceptibility to forest parasites, is still very limited. This Special Issue of Forests aims to improve the current understanding of the molecular interactions between tree hosts and their biotic agents in forest habitats, and thus review and research papers involving all aspects of tree defense against pathogens and pests are very welcome.

Dr. Jun-Jun Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • tree–parasite interactions
  • plant immunity
  • induced gene expression
  • host disease resistance
  • biotic threats

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3844 KiB  
Article
Identification of the HbZAR1 Gene and Its Potential Role as a Minor Gene in Response to Powdery Mildew and Anthracnose of Hevea brasiliensis
by Qifeng Liu, Anqi Qiao, Shaoyao Zhou, Yiying Lu, Ye Yang, Lifeng Wang, Bi Qin, Meng Wang, Xiaoyu Liang and Yu Zhang
Forests 2024, 15(11), 1891; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15111891 - 26 Oct 2024
Viewed by 552
Abstract
Powdery mildew and anthracnose are the main diseases of rubber trees. In recent years, there have been large outbreaks in the rubber-planting areas of Asia, seriously affecting the yield and quality of rubber latex. ZAR1 is a conserved and distinctive coiled-coil nucleotide-binding leucine-rich [...] Read more.
Powdery mildew and anthracnose are the main diseases of rubber trees. In recent years, there have been large outbreaks in the rubber-planting areas of Asia, seriously affecting the yield and quality of rubber latex. ZAR1 is a conserved and distinctive coiled-coil nucleotide-binding leucine-rich (CNL) repeat in the plant kingdom, playing a crucial role in disease-resistance processes. To elucidate the function of the HbZAR1 gene in rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), three candidate HbZAR1 genes were identified using bioinformatics methods and comprehensively analyzed. The results indicate that the HbZAR1 protein is conserved in different plant species. Examination of cis-regulatory element sequences of HbZAR1genes reveals that the HbZAR1 gene promoter exhibits a remarkable enrichment of stress, light, and hormone elements. An expression analysis shows that the expression levels of the three HbZAR1 genes are highest in the bark and lowest in latex. Three HbZAR1 genes can respond to both rubber tree Erysiphe quercicola and Colletotrichum siamense infection; especially, HbZAR1.1 and HbZAR1.2 show significant upregulation in expression levels during the early stages of infection. These findings suggest that the three HbZAR1 genes may be involved in rubber tree susceptibility to E. quercicola and C. siamense through different immune mechanisms. Subcellular localization results indicate that the HbZAR1 genes are expressed in the nucleus and plasma membrane. This study also shows that the three HbZAR1 genes and activated mutant HbZAR1.1D481V do not induce stable ROS production and cell death, suggesting possible gene degradation, functional redundancy, or acting as minor genes in disease resistance. This research provides valuable insights for further studying the function of HbZAR1 genes in rubber trees and the mechanisms of immune molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanism of Forest Tree Defense against Pathogens and Pests)
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19 pages, 2600 KiB  
Article
Identification of RNAi-Related Genes and Transcriptome Assembly of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda, L.) Seedlings Exposed to Insect-Specific dsRNA
by Zachary Bragg and Lynne K. Rieske
Forests 2024, 15(6), 938; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15060938 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 963
Abstract
Considerable research has focused on gene silencing in tree-feeding insects, but how trees recognize and process double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) engineered to target plant pests is unknown. We performed transcriptomic assembly, preliminary differential expression analysis, and in silico annotation on loblolly pine (Pinus [...] Read more.
Considerable research has focused on gene silencing in tree-feeding insects, but how trees recognize and process double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) engineered to target plant pests is unknown. We performed transcriptomic assembly, preliminary differential expression analysis, and in silico annotation on loblolly pine (Pinus taeda, L.) seedlings exposed to southern pine beetle-specific dsRNA. This pilot study sought to elucidate the baseline response of seedlings challenged with insect-specific dsRNA. Treated and untreated seedlings were sequenced and following transcriptome assembly 20 RNAi-related proteins (RRPs) were annotated. Differential gene expression analysis conducted using DESeq2 followed by pathway enrichment revealed 7131 differentially expressed transcripts, of which 33% were upregulated and 67% were downregulated. Only two RRPs selected for analysis were upregulated in treated seedlings, showing a lack of detectable RNAi response with our methodology. Beyond RNAi-related proteins, pathway enrichment mapped to immune response systems and genetic and cellular processing. Upregulated transcripts included autophagy, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction. Downregulated transcripts included RNA degradation and fatty acid metabolism pathways. Multiple DICER-LIKE and ARGONAUTE proteins were also annotated in five other North American pines, revealing diversity among these crucial proteins. Understanding host plant response to RNAi-mediated pest control is essential to further develop this technology against tree pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanism of Forest Tree Defense against Pathogens and Pests)
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