A Transcriptome Analysis of Poncirus trifoliata, an Aurantioideae Species Tolerant to Asian Citrus Psyllid, Has Identified Potential Genes and Events Associated with Psyllid Resistance

Abstract

Citrus huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating disease for citrus production, largely caused by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Poncirus trifoliata exhibits high resistance to ACP; however, this resistance is weakened when C. sinensis is co-cultivated. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during ACP feeding and to uncover potential ACP resistance genes in P. trifoliata. In comparison to independent cultivation, 1247 and 205 DEGs were identified in P. trifoliata when co-cultivated with C. sinensis after 7 and 14 days, respectively. Analysis of enriched Gene Ontology categories revealed that DEGs were significantly associated with the cell wall, glucometabolic activities, and secondary metabolites. Additionally, these genes were found to be involved in phytohormone signaling, cell wall metabolism, redox state homeostasis, and secondary metabolites, as well as a number of transcription factor genes (TFs). Furthermore, we examined the impact of the ACP feeding factor on the gene expression patterns in P. trifoliata. Results showed an increase in the JA signaling pathway and various TFs. The RNA-seq results were verified using reverse transcription quantitative PCR. Our findings shed light on the molecular basis of ACP resistance in P. trifoliata and identified potential genes associated with this resistance.