Biology subjects

Pink, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Pink, H..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Identification of Lactuca sativa transcription factors impacting resistance to Botrytis cinerea through predictive network inference

Lettuce is susceptible to a wide range of plant pathogens including the fungal pathogens Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, causal agents of grey mould and lettuce drop, respectively. Chemical control is routinely used but there is an urgent need to develop varieties with enhanced resistance given the economic and environmental costs of preventative pesticide sprays, the prevalence of fungicide-resistant isolates of both pathogens in the field, and the increasing withdrawal of approved fungicides through legislation. Resistance against Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is quantitative, governed by multiple small-medium impact loci, with plant responses involving large-scale transcriptional reprogramming. The elucidation of the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) mediating these responses will not only identify key transcriptional regulators but also interactions between regulators and show how the defence response is fine-tuned to a particular pathogen. We generated high-resolution (14 time points) time series expression data from lettuce leaves following mock-inoculation or inoculation with B. cinerea, capturing the dynamics of the transcriptional response to infection. Integrating this data with a time series dataset from S. sclerotiorum infection of lettuce identified a core set of 4362 genes similarly differentially expressed in response to both pathogens. Using the expression data for these core genes (with additional single time point data from 21 different lettuce accessions) we inferred a GRN underlying the lettuce defence response to these pathogens. Using the GRN, we have predicted and validated key regulators of lettuce immunity, identifying both positive (LsBOS1) and negative (LsNAC53) regulators of defence against B. cinerea, as well as downstream target genes. These data provide a high level of detail on defence-induced transcriptional change in a crop species and a GRN with the ability to predict transcription factors mediating disease resistance both in lettuce and other species.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Low level of antioxidant capacity biomarkers but not target overexpression predicts vulnerability to ROS-inducing drugs

Despite a strong rationale for why cancer cells are susceptible to redox-targeting drugs, such drugs often face tumor resistance or dose-limiting toxicity in preclinical and clinical studies. An important reason is the lack of specific biomarkers to better select susceptible cancer entities and stratify patients. Using a large panel of lung cancer cell lines, we identified a set of "antioxidant-capacity" biomarkers (ACB), which were tightly repressed, partly by STAT3 and STAT5A/B in sensitive cells, rendering them susceptible to multiple redox-targeting and ferroptosis-inducing drugs. Contrary to expectation, constitutively low ACB expression was not associated with an increased steady state level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) but a high level of nitric oxide, which is required to sustain high replication rates. Using ACBs, we identified cancer entities with a high percentage of patients with favorable ACB expression pattern, making it likely that more responders to ROS-inducing drugs could be stratified for clinical trials.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Identification of genetic loci in lettuce mediating quantitative resistance to fungal pathogens

Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce) is an important leafy vegetable crop grown and consumed globally. Chemicals are routinely used to control major pathogens, including the causal agents of grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) and lettuce drop (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum). With increasing prevalence of pathogen resistance to fungicides and environmental concerns, there is an urgent need to identify sources of genetic resistance to B. cinerea and S. sclerotiorum in lettuce. We demonstrated genetic variation for quantitative resistance to B. cinerea and S. sclerotiorum in a set of 97 diverse lettuce and wild relative accessions, and between the parents of lettuce mapping populations. Transcriptome profiling across multiple lettuce accessions enabled us to identify genes with expression correlated with resistance, predicting the importance of post-transcriptional gene regulation in the lettuce defence response. We identified five genetic loci influencing quantitative resistance in a F10 mapping population derived from a Lactuca serriola (wild relative) x lettuce cross, which each explained 5-10% of the variation. Differential gene expression analysis between the parent lines, and integration of data on correlation of gene expression and resistance in the diversity set, highlighted potential causal genes underlying the quantitative trait loci. Key MessageWe demonstrate genetic variation for quantitative resistance against important fungal pathogens in lettuce and its wild relatives, map loci conferring resistance and predict key molecular mechanisms using transcriptome profiling.

plant biology↗