RNA-seq of Phytophthora sojae WT and pskmt3

Plant pathogens secreted effector proteins to overcome host immunity system and gain access to colonization. Although more than 300 hundred of RxLR effectors were encoded by the devastating soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae, the patterns of conditionally expressed effector genes were well programmed. However, the effector gene regulation mechanisms were not fully dissected. In this study, we identified the H3K36me3 methyltransferase PsKMT3. Phenotypic assays showed PsKMT3 was involved in regulation of growth, sporulation, zoospore production and pathogenicity. ChIP-seq analysis, together with RNA-seq analysis, showed PsKMT3 controlled a set of RxLR gene expression. The transcriptome comparison showed large-scale mis-expression of RxLR waves during mycelium, 3 hpi and 6 hpi stages between WT and pskmt3. Our result supports a new RxLR gene regulation mechanisms in which methyltransferase PsKMT3 maintains well programmed RxLR gene expression in P. sojae. Two replicates of P. sojae mycelium, 3 hpi and 6 hpi stage samples were performed.