Transcriptome Analysis and Functional Characterization of the Gene Involved in Barley Resistance to .

Barley leaf stripe, caused by (), significantly reduces yields across various regions globally. Understanding the resistance mechanisms of barley to is crucial for advancing disease resistance breeding efforts. In this study, two barley genotypes-highly susceptible Alexis and immune Ganpi2-were inoculated with the highly pathogenic isolate QWC for 7, 14, and 18 days. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Alexis was 1350, 1898, and 2055 at 7, 14, and 18 days, respectively, while Ganpi2 exhibited 1195, 1682, and 2225 DEGs at the same time points. Gene expression pattern analysis revealed that Alexis responded more slowly to infection compared to Ganpi2. A comparative analysis identified 457 DEGs associated with Ganpi2's immunity to . Functional enrichment of these DEGs highlighted the involvement of genes related to plant-pathogen interactions and kinase activity in immunity. Additionally, 20 resistance genes and 24 transcription factor genes were predicted from the 457 DEGs. Twelve candidate genes were selected for qRT-PCR verification, and the results showed that the transcriptomic data was reliable. We conducted cloning of the candidate resistance gene by the barley cultivar Ganpi2, and the sequence analysis confirmed that the gene contains seven leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains and an S_TKc domain. Subcellular localization in tobacco indicates that the HvLRR_8-1 is localized on the cell membrane. Through the functional analysis using virus-induced gene silencing, it was demonstrated that plays a critical role in regulating barley resistance to . This study represents the first comparative transcriptome analysis of barley varieties with differing responses to infection, providing that represents a promising candidate gene for improving durable resistance against in cultivated barley.