Wheat stripe rust and powdery mildew are important worldwide diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum). The wheat cultivar Xingmin318 (XM318) is resistant to both wheat stripe rust and powdery mildew, which are caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) and Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), respectively. To explore the difference between wheat defense response against Pst and Bgt, quantitative proteomic analyses of XM318 inoculated with either Pst or Bgt were performed using tandem mass tags technology. A total of 741 proteins were identified as differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs). Bioinformatics analyses indicated that some functional categories, including antioxidant activity and immune system process, exhibited obvious differences between Pst and Bgt infections. Intriguingly, only 42 DAPs responded to both Pst and Bgt infections. Twelve DAPs were randomly selected for reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis, and the mRNA expression levels of 11 were consistent with their protein expression. Furthermore, gene silencing using the virus-induced gene silencing system indicated that glutathione S-transferase (TaGSTU6) has an important role in resistance to Bgt but not to Pst. TaGSTU6 interacted with the cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) domain-containing protein (TaCBSX3) in both Pst and Bgt infections. Knockdown of TaCBSX3 expression only reduced wheat resistance to Bgt infection. Overexpression of TaGSTU6 and TaCBSX3 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) promoted plant resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato DC3000. Our results indicate that TaGSTU6 interaction with TaCBSX3 only confers wheat resistance to Bgt, suggesting that wheat has different response mechanisms to Pst and Bgt stress.

Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase 1-like (CrRLK1L) plays pivotal roles in regulating plant growth and development, mediating intercellular signal transduction, and modulating responses to environmental stresses. However, a comprehensive genome-wide identification and analysis of the CrRLK1L gene family in maize remains elusive. In this study, a total of 24 CrRLK1L genes were identified in the maize whole genome. A phylogenetic analysis further revealed that CrRLK1L proteins from Arabidopsis, rice, and maize were grouped into nine distinct subgroups, with subgroup IV being unique to maize. Gene structure analysis demonstrated that the number of introns varied greatly among ZmCrRLK1L genes. Notably, the genome-wide duplication (WGD) events promoted the expansion of the ZmCrRLK1L gene family. Compared with Arabidopsis, there were more collinear gene pairs between maize and rice. Tissue expression patterns indicated that ZmCrRLK1L genes are widely expressed in various tissues, with ZmCrRLK1L5/9 specifically highly expressed in roots, and ZmCrRLK1L8/14/16/21/22 expressed in anthers. Additionally, RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that the expression of ZmCrRLK1L1/2/20/22 genes exhibited different expression patterns under drought and salt stresses. In summary, our study lays a foundation for elucidating the biological roles of ZmCrRLK1L genes in maize growth and development, reproductive development, and stress responses.

Wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici [Bgt]) is a widespread disease that causes significant economic losses to common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops worldwide. To identify effective resistance genes, we evaluated 120 common wheat accessions mainly from different wheat producing regions in China for responses to different Bgt isolates in the seedling stage and to natural infection in three field trials and genotyped them with a wheat 55K iSelect single-nucleotide polymorphism array for a genome-wide association study. A total of 26 loci were identified, which explained 6.6 to 26.2% of the phenotypic variation depending on individual locus. Of the 26 loci, 10 were detected in the A genomes, 10 in the B genomes, and only 6 in the D genome. Sixteen loci overlapped with known powdery mildew resistance genes or quantitative trait loci, and the remaining 10 loci were potentially novel. This study improves the understanding of the genetic structure of wheat powdery mildew resistance and provides germplasms and information on genes and markers for breeding new wheat cultivars with effective resistance to powdery mildew.

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is one of the most widespread and destructive fungal diseases of wheat worldwide. The cultivation and growth of resistant wheat varieties are the most economical, effective, and environmental friendly methods to control stripe rust. Therefore, it is necessary to use new resistance genes to breed resistant wheat varieties. A single dominant gene temporarily designated as YrM8664-3, from a wheat-Leymus mollis introgression line M8664-3 highly resistant to Chinese predominant Pst races, is a potentially valuable source of stripe rust resistance for breeding. Herein, based on previous YrM8664-3 chromosome location results (bin 4AL13-0.59-0.66 close to 4AL12-0.43-0.59) and expression change information of candidate genes and bioinformatics analysis, several candidate genes with significantly different expression changes were then selected and verified by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Two of the candidate genes temporarily designated as TaFBN [containing plastid lipid-associated proteins (PAP)_fibrillin domain in its protein] and Ta_Pes_BRCT [containing Pescadillo and breast cancer tumour suppressor protein C-terminus (BRCT) domain in its protein], produced the most significant resistance changes in the wheat-Pst interaction system after silencing. These two genes were further verified by Agrobacterium-mediated wheat genetic transformation technology. According to the identification of disease resistance, the resistance function of the candidate gene TaFBN was further verified. Then, the expression of TaFBN under hormone treatment indicated that TaFBN may be related to the salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways. Combined with the expression of TaFBN in response to environmental stress stimulation, it can be reasonably speculated that TaFBN plays an important role in the resistance of wheat to Pst and is involved in abiotic stress pathways.

Morchella is a highly valued edible and medicinal fungus with significant nutritional and economic value. In recent years, with the development of artificial cultivation techniques, the planting area of Morchella has been expanding continuously, while the incidence of fungal diseases has also increased sharply, seriously affecting its yield and quality and further restricting the development of the Morchella industry. To date, ten fungal diseases of Morchella have been reported, mainly including white mold, cobweb disease, pileus rot and fungal rot. The mycoparasitic fungi responsible for these diseases can infect Morchella by secreting proteins and secondary metabolites, while Morchella responds to fungal disease stress through genetic and metabolic regulation. Currently, biological control strategies for Morchella fungal diseases primarily rely on antagonistic microorganisms and natural products. This review summarizes the research progress on major fungal diseases of Morchella, including their causal fungi, pathogenic factors and infection mechanisms, host response mechanisms, and biological control. It also identifies existing research gaps and prospects for future research directions.

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by the obligate biotrophic ascomycete fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a major threat to wheat production worldwide. It is known that Arabidopsis thaliana glucan synthase-like 5 (AtGSL5) improves the resistance of wheat to powdery mildew by increasing its anti-penetration abilities. However, the function of glucan synthase-like (GSL) orthologs in crop species remains largely unknown. In this study, TaGSL22, a novel functional ortholog of AtGSL5, was isolated as the only Bgt-induced GSL gene in wheat. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that TaGSL22 was conserved within the group of Gramineae and showed a closer relationship to GSL orthologs from monocots than to those from dicots. The TaGSL22 transcript was highest in the wheat leaves, followed by stems then roots. TaGSL22 was localized in the cell membrane and cytoplasm of wheat protoplasts, as predicted by transmembrane structure analysis. In addition, expression of TaGSL22 was induced by the plant hormones ethylene (ETH) and salicylic acid (SA), but down-regulated by jasmonate (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA). The transcript level of TaGSL22 was up-regulated in the incompatible interaction between Bgt and wheat, whereas it remained relatively unchanged in the compatible interaction. Knocking down of TaGSL22 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) induced a higher infection type in the wheat–Bgt interaction. The TaGSL22-silenced plants exhibited reduced resistance to Bgt, accompanied by decreased callose accumulation. Our study shows a conserved function of GSL genes in plant immunity associated with penetration resistance, and it indicates that TaGSL22 can be used to improve papilla composition and enhance resistance to wheat powdery mildew.