RNA-seq based transcriptome analysis of plant pathogens under salt stress condition

Plant pathogens require lethal virulence factors, susceptible hosts, and optimal environmental conditions for disease establishment. High soil salinity, exacerbated by climate change, significantly impacts agro-biological ecosystems. However, the overall interactions between plant pathogens and salt stress are not fully characterized or understood. This study examines the effects of salt stress on representative plant pathogens: Burkholderia gladioli, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, and Ralstonia solanacearum. Using pan-genome-based comparative transcriptomics, we analyzed the comprehensive alterations within the biological systems of plant pathogens when treated with 200 mM NaCl. Our results highlight the differential responses between salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant pathogens to salt stress. To induce salt stress, 200 mM NaCl was applied to salt-sensitive (B. gladioli and R. solanacearum) and salt-tolerant (Pcc) pathogens. For each plant pathogen, cultures without NaCl addition were used as negative controls. After 2 hours of exposure to salt stress, we examined changes in gene expression patterns. Each sample was prepared in triplicate.