Phytophthora infestans is a highly destructive oomycete for Solanum tuberosum (potato), causing late blight disease with significant yield losses worldwide. While resistance (R) genes and targeted editing of susceptibility (S) genes have been widely investigated for disease management, the functional dynamics of S-genes during infection are less understood. In this study, we investigated cultivar-dependent differences in late blight susceptibility and the expression of S-genes during different infection stages. Desiree was the most susceptible cultivar, followed by Lady Rosetta, Sante, Cardinal, Asterix, Coroda, and Mozika. While no visual tuber blight symptoms were observed, infected plants produced a significantly higher number of smaller-sized tubers, which suggests the impact of foliage late blight. Among the candidate S-genes, expression analysis revealed that St-DMR6, St-PMR4, and St-CESA3 underwent consistent early induction (5 dpi) across all susceptible cultivars. However, by 15 dpi, expression patterns became cultivar-specific; induction was sustained in Cardinal and Desiree but suppressed in Coroda and Lady Rosetta. The early induction of S-gene(s) at 5 dpi likely depicts facilitated pathogen colonization, while sustained expression at 15 dpi indicated a stable role during later stages of infection. Our findings highlight the critical involvement of S‑genes, particularly St-PMR4, in mediating cultivar-specific susceptibility to P. infestans and provide potential targets for developing late blight-resistant potato through genome editing.
Plant viruses significantly decrease the yield of cultivated plants; therefore, developing new methods of combating viral diseases and studying the effectiveness of these methods is relevant. The expression of the heterologous extracellular RNase gene of Zinnia elegans (ZRNase II) increases the resistance of transgenic plants to viruses. The authors have proposed a model system for visualizing the protective effect of the ZRNase II gene and studying the spread of GFP-marked viral particles in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The presence of the target ZRNase II gene was confirmed in the plants obtained after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Four lines were selected and adapted to ex vitro conditions. Total RNase activity in all transgenic lines was four to seven times higher than in wild-type plants. The systemic spread of the Potato virus X-based PVX-GFP construct in these plants was studied. To this end, agroinfiltration was performed using the pICH27566 and pICH6692 vectors. Following agroinfiltration, transient expression of GFP occurred and its systemic spread throughout the plant was observed due to transport proteins within the virus-like particles. Expression of the heterologous RNase gene (ZRNase II) delayed the spread of viral particles by 5–30 days and decreased the accumulation of GFP-marked viral particles in all transgenic lines compared to the control. To assess the rapid systemic response of plants to agroinfiltration and virus expression, the content of chlorophyll and anthocyanins in N. benthamiana leaves was studied outside the zone of visual spread of GFP-marked viral particles. Differences were found between control and transgenic plants in anthocyanin content in response to infection. Expression of the ZRNase II gene in plants delayed the systemic spread of virus-like particles and changed the response to biotic stress at the plant secondary metabolism level.
Growth regulating factor (GRF) binds to the QLQ (Gln, Leu, Gln) domain at the N-terminal of GRF interacting factor (GIF), acting as a transcriptional co-activator and playing important roles in plant growth, development and resistance to stresses. To date, no comprehensive identification and analysis of GRF and GIF gene families have been reported in Isatis indigotica Fort. In this study, the gene structures, conserved motifs, physicochemical properties, chromosomal localizations, cis-acting elements, evolutionary relationships and expression patterns were systematically analyzed. The results showed that there were 10 IiGRFs distributed on 5 chromosomes, and 4 IiGIFs on 2 chromosomes. IiGRFs and IiGIFs could be divided into 4 and 2 subfamilies, respectively. IiGRFs has two pairs of segmental duplication genes, but no tandem duplication genes. Moreover, IiGRFs (19.14-fold) and IiGIFs (8.0-fold) had the highest expression levels in young leaves and stems, compared with those in roots. The upstream regions of IiGRFs and IiGIFs contained more photo and MeJA hormone responsive elements, responding to shade and hormone stresses. Furthermore, the correlation analysis showed that IiGRF4 and IiGIF2, IiGRF4 and IiGIF4, and IiGRF4 and IiGIF3 were co-expressed with each other, which suggested that these paired genes could function together. The findings provided the more fundamental information on IiGRFs and IiGIFs, and laid good foundations for their further functional research in I. indigotica.
The results of the analysis of new genomic techniques (NGTs), currently widely used methods for genome editing (GE/GEd), are discussed. The CRISPR/Cas system, the most precise and efficient genome editing biotechnology, is considered in more detail. The rapid growth of plants improved by new editing methods has led to the need to consider or adopt new regulatory approaches to genome-edited plants. This review analyzes the regulatory landscape of genome-edited crops and products produced from them in some countries and regions of the world. A comparison is made with the legislation on genetically modified organisms. Current discussions and proposals for the legal regulation of genome-edited plants in the European Union are considered. Genome-editing methods and the regulatory framework for regulating genome-edited plants in the global world are constantly developing and changing, so the authors tried to appeal to the latest data, relying on academic publications and relevant regulatory documents. The publication aims to provide an overview of the various regulatory approaches currently in place (in use) or under consideration (under consideration) for genetically modified plants in some countries around the world.
Wool is a valuable and irreplaceable raw material for the textile industry, but a significant amount of it is defective. Improving the qualitative characteristics of wool is impossible without studying its structure. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to study the structure of normal and felted wool of sheep of the Ukrainian Carpathian mountain breed. Samples of wool, which were divided into awn and down, were studied. The surface of the fibers was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while cross-sections were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and keratosis was examined through treatment with peracids and alkali. Studies have shown that the cortex of downy fibers is characterized by a bilateral structure, i.e., it consists of ortho- and paracortical cells, and the structure of the awn is characterized by radial asymmetry. A feature of the structure of the awn fibers is the presence of a medullary layer, which is located in the central part of the hair and is composed of porous tissue containing cavities. The cuticular layer of the awn, in comparison with the downy fibers, contains a larger number of scales that differ in their shape, and it is this layer that undergoes the greatest changes in felted wool, as indicated by the scales exfoliated in some places with smoothed edges and a deformed surface, as well as a significant decrease in the beta-keratosis fraction, both in the awn (from 15.28 to 11.98
