Table_1_Comparative transcriptome meta-analysis reveals a set of genes involved in the responses to multiple pathogens in maize.xlsx

Maize production is constantly threatened by the presence of different fungal pathogens worldwide. Genetic resistance is the most favorable approach to reducing yield losses resulted from fungal diseases. The molecular mechanism underlying disease resistance in maize remains largely unknown. The objective of this study was to identify key genes/pathways that are consistently associated with multiple fungal pathogen infections in maize. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of gene expression profiles from seven publicly available RNA-seq datasets of different fungal pathogen infections in maize. We identified 267 common differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs) in the four maize leaf infection experiments and 115 co-DEGs in all the seven experiments. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the co-DEGs were mainly involved in the biosynthesis of diterpenoid and phenylpropanoid. Further investigation revealed a set of genes associated with terpenoid phytoalexin and lignin biosynthesis, as well as potential pattern recognition receptors and nutrient transporter genes, which were consistently up-regulated after inoculation with different pathogens. In addition, we constructed a weighted gene co-expression network and identified several hub genes encoding transcription factors and protein kinases. Our results provide valuable insights into the pathways and genes influenced by different fungal pathogens, which might facilitate mining multiple disease resistance genes in maize.

全球范围内，各类真菌病原菌的侵染始终威胁着玉米生产。遗传抗性（Genetic resistance）是减轻真菌病害引发产量损失的最优策略。目前，玉米抗病性背后的分子机制仍未得到充分解析。本研究旨在筛选出与玉米受多种真菌病原菌侵染持续相关的关键基因与通路。为此，本研究针对7组公开可得的、涵盖玉米不同真菌病原菌侵染场景的RNA测序（RNA-seq）数据集的基因表达谱开展了荟萃分析。我们在4组玉米叶片侵染实验中鉴定出267个共同差异表达基因（co-DEGs），在全部7组实验中鉴定出115个共同差异表达基因（co-DEGs）。功能富集分析显示，上述共同差异表达基因主要参与二萜类（diterpenoid）与苯丙烷类（phenylpropanoid）化合物的生物合成过程。进一步研究发现，一组与萜类植保素（terpenoid phytoalexin）、木质素（lignin）生物合成相关的基因，以及潜在的模式识别受体（pattern recognition receptors）和营养转运蛋白基因，在接种不同病原菌后均呈现持续上调表达。此外，我们构建了加权基因共表达网络（weighted gene co-expression network），并鉴定出数个编码转录因子（transcription factors）与蛋白激酶（protein kinases）的核心基因（hub genes）。本研究结果为解析受不同真菌病原菌影响的通路与基因提供了宝贵见解，有望助力玉米多抗病基因的挖掘工作。