A Comparative Study of Transcriptome Profiling in Aflatoxin-Resistant and Aflatoxin-Susceptible Groundnut in the Presence of Toxigenic and Non-Toxigenic Aspergillus flavus

Till date the transcriptomic studied of the groundnut-A. Flavus interactions reported three types of resistance mechanism including In-vitro seed colonization and resistance to pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination and identified the key candidate gene of stress-responsive mechanism. However limited information is available for resistant to aflatoxin production during pre- and post-harvest condition. To combat postharvest aflatoxin contamination, it is important to investigate the molecular mechanisms of groundnut resistance to aflatoxin production. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanism of resistance to aflatoxin production in groundnut, comparative transcriptomic profiles were carried out in aflatoxin resistant and susceptible groundnut post-harvest seeds, inoculated with and without toxic and non-toxic A. flavus. To develop effective measures of post-harvest aflatoxin contamination, differentially expressed genes networks and biological pathway associated with resistance to aflatoxin production were revealed by comparing A. flavus non-inoculated and inoculated seeds of the resistant and susceptible groundnut variety.This comparative study identified key genes that control aflatoxin production, which could contribute to understanding of the AP resistance mechanism and could be utilized in groundnut breeding for resistance to aflatoxin. Breeding to resistance the aflatoxin in groundnut is limited due to lack of applicable screening tools as well as lack of resistance source material. The progress in groundnut breeding for resistance to aflatoxin is slow due to the lack of a resistance segregating progeny, poor understanding of inheritance of defense traits and long breeding cycle for transfer the gene in commercial varieties.