Next Article in Journal
Antimicrobial Potential of Bee-Derived Products: Insights into Honey, Propolis and Bee Venom
Previous Article in Journal
Nylon Affinity Networks Capture and Sequester Two Model Bacteria Spiked in Human Plasma
Previous Article in Special Issue
From Morphology to Multi-Omics: A New Age of Fusarium Research
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Transcriptomic Characterization of Candidate Genes for Fusarium Resistance in Maize (Zea mays L.)

1
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute—National Research Institute in Radzików, 05-870 Błonie, Poland
2
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Biotechnology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Dojazd 11, 60-632 Poznań, Poland
3
Department of Phytopathology, Seed Science and Technology, Faculty of Agronomy, Horticulture and Bioengineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Dąbrowskiego 159, 60-594 Poznań, Poland
4
Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Pathogens 2025, 14(8), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14080779
Submission received: 17 June 2025 / Revised: 30 July 2025 / Accepted: 31 July 2025 / Published: 6 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Research on Fusarium: 2nd Edition)

Abstract

Fusarium diseases are among the most dangerous fungal diseases of plants. To date, there are no plant protectants that completely prevent fusariosis. Current breeding trends are therefore focused on increasing genetic resistance. While global modern maize breeding relies on various molecular genetics techniques, they are useless without a precise characterization of genomic regions that determine plant physiological responses to fungi. The aim of this study was thus to characterize the expression of candidate genes that were previously reported by our team as harboring markers linked to fusarium resistance in maize. The plant material included one susceptible and four resistant varieties. Biotic stress was induced in adult plants by inoculation with fungal spores under controlled conditions. qRT-PCR was performed. The analysis focused on four genes that encode for GDSL esterase/lipase (LOC100273960), putrescine hydroxycinnamyltransferase (LOC103649226), peroxidase 72 (LOC100282124), and uncharacterized protein (LOC100501166). Their expression showed differences between analyzed time points and varieties, peaking at 6 hpi. The resistant varieties consistently showed higher levels of expression compared to the susceptible variety, indicating their stronger defense responses. Moreover, to better understand the function of these genes, their expression in various organs and tissues was also evaluated using publicly available transcriptomic data. Our results are consistent with literature reports that clearly indicate the involvement of these genes in the resistance response to fusarium. Thus, they further emphasize the high usefulness of the previously selected markers in breeding programs to select fusarium-resistant maize genotypes.
Keywords: candidate genes; fusarium; plant resistance candidate genes; fusarium; plant resistance

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sobiech, A.; Tomkowiak, A.; Jamruszka, T.; Kosiada, T.; Spychała, J.; Lenort, M.; Bocianowski, J. Transcriptomic Characterization of Candidate Genes for Fusarium Resistance in Maize (Zea mays L.). Pathogens 2025, 14, 779. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14080779

AMA Style

Sobiech A, Tomkowiak A, Jamruszka T, Kosiada T, Spychała J, Lenort M, Bocianowski J. Transcriptomic Characterization of Candidate Genes for Fusarium Resistance in Maize (Zea mays L.). Pathogens. 2025; 14(8):779. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14080779

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sobiech, Aleksandra, Agnieszka Tomkowiak, Tomasz Jamruszka, Tomasz Kosiada, Julia Spychała, Maciej Lenort, and Jan Bocianowski. 2025. "Transcriptomic Characterization of Candidate Genes for Fusarium Resistance in Maize (Zea mays L.)" Pathogens 14, no. 8: 779. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14080779

APA Style

Sobiech, A., Tomkowiak, A., Jamruszka, T., Kosiada, T., Spychała, J., Lenort, M., & Bocianowski, J. (2025). Transcriptomic Characterization of Candidate Genes for Fusarium Resistance in Maize (Zea mays L.). Pathogens, 14(8), 779. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14080779

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop