Mechanisms of hickory resistance to dry rot disease: a comprehensive analysis from gene expression to non-coding RNAs

To investigate the dynamic interactions between C. cathayensis and Botryosphaeria dothidea (the causative agent of dry rot disease) across different stages of infection, and to identify the key disease resistance pathways, transcriptomic sequencing was performed on infected and healthy tissues from field-grown C. cathayensis. Differential gene expression analysis was employed to pinpoint the key pathways and genes involved in the tree's defense responses, shedding light on the mechanisms and metabolic pathways activated upon infection by B. dothidea. Additionally, the roles of non-coding RNA, such as lncRNAs and circRNAs at various stages of disease were also explored, examining their contributions to the plant's defense against B. dothidea.