Differential Gene Expression Analysis of Wheat Breeding Lines Reveal Molecular Insights in Yellow Rust Resistance under Field Conditions

The evolution of pathogens in the changing climate raises new challenges for wheat production. Yellow rust is one of the major wheat diseases worldwide, leading to an increased use of fungicides to prevent significant yield losses. The enhancement of the resistance potential of wheat cultivars is a necessary and environmentally friendly solution for sustainable wheat production. In this study, we aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes induced upon yellow rust infection in the field. Reference and de novo based transcriptome analysis was performed among the resistant and susceptible lines of a bi-parental population to study the global transcriptome changes in contrasting wheat genotypes. Based on the analysis, the de novo transcriptome analysis approach was found to be more supportive for field studies. Expression profiles, gene ontology, KEGG pathway analysis and enrichment studies indicated the relation between differentially expressed genes of wheat and yellow rust infection. The h0igh expression of genes related to non-race specific resistance along with pathogen-specific resistance might be a reason for the better resistance ability of a resistant wheat genotype in the field. The targeted metagenomic analysis of wheat samples revealed that Puccinia striiformis tritici was the most dominant pathogen along with other pathogens on the collected leaf material and validating the disease scoring carried out in the field and transcriptomics analyses.