Time-course total RNA sequencing of Blumeria hordei

The obligate biotrophic phytopathogenic fungus Blumeria hordei is one of the most devastating powdery mildews and causes huge barley yield loss. It can efficiently overcome host resistance. Long non-coding RNAs are involved in many biological processes, most prominently, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. We performed time-course RNA sequencing and identified 5887 lncRNAs in B. hordei. LncRNAs potentially directly interact with B. hordei coding genes, as we found evidence for triplex formation with coding gene transcripts, a hallmark of lncRNA-directed regulation. Our research shows that lncRNA are potential key regulators of dynamic gene and transposon expression in powdery mildews especially during the infection periods. In B. hordei, lncRNAs could be the key to transcriptional diversity amid the loss of coding genes and give rise to novel regulatory elements, virulence peptides, and functions.