ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1580472
Physiological and Molecular Profiling Unveils Oat (Avena sativa L.) Defense Mechanisms Against Powdery Mildew
Provisionally accepted
- 1Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xining, China
- 2Qinghai Province Key Laboratory of Crop Molecular Breeding, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
- 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China
- 4Academician Workstation of Agricultural High-Tech Industrial Area of the Yellow River Delta, National Center of Technology Innovation for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, Dong ying, Shandong, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Oat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. avenae (Bga), is a significant threat to oat production. However, the mechanisms underlying powdery mildew resistance in oats remain unclear.This study investigated the early-stage defense mechanisms of resistant (BY642) and susceptible (BY119) oat varieties post inoculation. We found that Bga invaded oat tissues through epidermal cell instead of stomata. After inoculation, BY642 exhibited a robust defense response characterized by rapid ROS (reactive oxygen species) accumulation and hypersensitive reaction, which are tightly regulated by an efficient antioxidant system to balance ROS production and scavenging, preventing cellular damage. Hormonal analysis indicated a SA (salicylic acid)-dominated signaling pathway in BY642, with suppressed JA (jasmonic acid) involvement, highlighting a delicate immune strategy.Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated early activation of photosynthesis-related pathways, metabolic reprogramming, and immune signaling networks, including MAPK cascades and WRKY transcription factors. Key hub genes, such as AsGSTU6 and AsWRKY50, were identified as critical contributors to resistance. The integration of ROS dynamics, SA signaling, and transcriptional regulation underscores a coordinated defense mechanism in BY642. This study provides insights into the molecular and physiological mechanisms underpinning powdery mildew resistance in oats, offering potential genes for molecular breeding.
Keywords: oat, powdery mildew, Disease Resistance, ROS, SA
Received: 20 Feb 2025; Accepted: 14 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Zhang, Liu, Tian, Chen and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bo Zhang, Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Xining, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.