Differential soybean gene expression during early phase of infection with Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus

Abstract

Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV), a bipartite begomovirus, causes yellow mosaic disease to soybean. Studies related to host gene expression in response to begomovirus infection have mostly been performed with systemically infected tissues at a later period of infection. In this study, soybean gene expression analysis has been performed to understand local responses against MYMIV at an early stage of infection before appearance of detectable limit of late viral transcripts. 444 soybean transcripts belonging to eleven functional categories showed significant changes in expression level at two days after infection. MYMIV infection resulted in enhanced expression of genes associated with hypersensitive response, programmed cell death and resistance response pathways and reduced expression of genes for photosynthesis and sugar transport. Comparative expression analysis of selected transcripts in the susceptible and a resistant variety displayed differential expression of host genes involved in intercellular virus movement and long distance signaling of systemic acquired resistance.