Transcriptome profiling of Pythium graminicola-inoculated rice roots.

Contrary to the relative wealth of information regarding pathogen defense responses in aboveground plant parts, little is known about the mechanistic basis and regulation of plant immunity in root tissues. Aiming to further our fundamental understanding of root immune responses, we have investigated the interaction between rice and one of its major root pathogens, the oomycete Pythium graminicola. The specificic objectives of this study were twofold: i) to disentangle the molecular and genetic basis of the rice-Pythium interaction by comparing the transcriptome of rice roots at different times after inoculation with a highly virulent Pythium strains, and ii) to offer fundamental insights into the genetic architecture and regulation of rice disease resistance pathways operative in root tissue and to identify the molecular players controlling the possible nodes of convergence between these resistance conduits Comparison between P. graminicola- and mock-infected rice roots. Two treatments (infected and non-infected) x three timepoints (1, 2 and 4 days post inoculation) x three biological replicates