Bases científicas e moleculares da antracnose em Phaseolus vulgaris : da cienciometria à caracterização genômica da família gênica WAK/WAKL

Abstract

Anthracnose, a disease of common bean caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, is one of the main causes of yield losses. Understanding the “plant × pathogen” interaction and identifying possible genes associated with resistance is the starting point for developing viable alternatives in crop breeding, aiming to reduce disease damage through the selection of resistant genotypes. This study aimed to (i) perform a scientometric analysis of the Phaseolus vulgaris – Colletotrichum lindemuthianum pathosystem, contributing to the consolidation of a review article on the topic; and (ii) present a comprehensive genomic analysis of the WAK/WAKLike gene family in common bean, in order to characterize the members of this gene family and investigate their expression profiles in resistant and susceptible plants inoculated with the Lv134 isolate of C. lindemuthianum, race 65. In this context, we aimed to identify candidate genes associated with plant susceptibility or resistance to anthracnose. Among the main results, a theoretical framework on the topic was consolidated, providing a basis for the study of the anthracnose pathosystem, considering the number of publications, the authors who most frequently addressed the topic, and the most cited articles. Regarding the genomic analysis, characterization of the WAK/WAKLike gene family in P. vulgaris resulted in the identification of 7 PvWAKs and 42 PvWAKLikes. In summary, this gene family showed diversity in protein domains and structural motifs, gene structure and coding exons, regulatory cis-elements associated with abiotic and biotic stresses, hormone-responsive elements, light-responsive elements, development-related elements, as well as synteny with genes from Arabidopsis thaliana and Glycine max. In terms of gene expression, important genes were identified at both 48 hours (PvWAKL02 and PvWAKL22 were upregulated) and 96 hours after inoculation (PvWAKL15 and PvWAKL26 were upregulated), suggesting a possible relationship with the biotrophic and necrotrophic phases of anthracnose. It is noteworthy that PvWAKL32 and PvWAKL33 showed contrasting transcriptional trajectories, possibly being involved in the perception of initial signaling. These results revealed genes potentially relevant to plant response systems against the pathogen, thus requiring further investigation. Therefore, this study contributes to future research on resistance genes, revealing opportunities for the improvement and elucidation of new and important knowledge regarding PvWAK/PvWAKLike genes, which had not yet been characterized in the literature. Keywords: Phaseolus vulgaris; anthracnose; race 65; WAK/WAKLike; scientometrics.