Integrated Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Reveal Cell-Type-Specific Immune Regulatory Networks in Maize Responding to Southern Corn Rust - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #Southern Corn Rust
- #Maize defense mechanisms
- #Single-cell transcriptomics
- Integrated single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomic sequencing (stRNA-seq) were used to study maize defense against Southern Corn Rust (SCR).
- Eight major cell types were identified, with mesophyll and epidermal cells initiating key defense responses at 24 hours post infection (hpi).
- Cell-type-specific activation of RLPs/RLKs and jasmonic acid was observed during early infection.
- Functional defense modules were activated in specific cell types at 24 hpi, with pseudotime and cell-cell communication analyses revealing immune-related dynamics.
- Multi-omics analysis identified core differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across critical cell types and time points.
- Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed that silencing ZmXET1 reduced disease severity, while silencing ZmRBG increased susceptibility.
- The study provides a high-resolution spatiotemporal atlas of maize defense, identifying ZmXET1 as a susceptibility factor and ZmRBG as a resistance component.