New Findings on the Resistance Mechanism of an Elite Diploid Wild Potato Species JAM1-4 in Response to a Super Race Strain of Phytophthora infestans

Abstract

Late blight is a devastating potato disease worldwide, caused by Phytophthora infestans. The P. infestans strain 2013-18-306 from Yunnan is a “supervirulent race” that overcomes all 11 known late blight resistance genes (R1 to R11) from Solanum demissum. In a previous study, we identified a diploid wild-type potato JAM1-4 (S. jamesii) with high resistance to 2013-18-306. dRenSeq analysis indicated the presence of novel R genes in JAM1-4. RNA-Seq was used to analyze the late blight resistance response genes and defense regulatory mechanisms of JAM1-4 against 2013-18-306. Gene ontology enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis showed that many disease-resistant pathways were significantly enriched. Analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed an active disease resistance mechanism of JAM1-4, and the essential role of multiple signal transduction pathways and secondary metabolic pathways comprised of SA-JA-ET in plant immunity. We also found that photosynthesis in JAM1-4 was inhibited to promote the immune response. Our study reveals the pattern of resistance-related gene expression in response to a super race strain of potato late blight and provides a theoretical basis for further exploration of potato disease resistance mechanisms, discovery of new late blight resistance genes, and disease resistance breeding.