Abstract:
【Objective】 This study aimed to systematically identify the key up-regulated kinase genes during
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
cubense race 4 (Foc4) infection and characterize their dynamic expression patterns, analyze its potential functions and regulatory relationships, providing theoretical basis for the green control of banana wilt disease.【Method】 The Foc4 reference genome was retrieved from NCBI, a combined Pfam and Kinomer analysis on Foc4 entire genome proteins was conducted to systematically identify protein kinases. Publicly available transcriptomic datasets from
Musa acuminata roots infected by Foc4 at three time points (18, 32, and 56 h) were analyzed, using the 18 h post-inoculation sample as the reference to identify significantly up-regulated kinase genes. Cluster analysis and co-expression analysis of pathogenic gene were conducted based on transcriptomic FPKM (fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads) values. Phylogenetic analysis was performed for the screened key kinases. Additionally, based on the FPKM va-lues of the transcriptome data, the correlation coefficients between these genes and the homologous genes in the pathogen-host interaction database (PHI) of Foc4 were calculated, and a kinase gene-PHI homologous gene correlation network was constructed.【Result】 A total of 170 Foc4 kinase genes were identified, of which 15 showed significant up-regulation on at least a infection time point. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that FOIG_08124 clustered within the typical FoMKK2 mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) clade, showing orthologs with Foc4 FoMKK2 and
Magnaporthe oryzae Ste7, suggesting involvement in MAPK signaling pathway regulation. In contrast, FOIG_06776 belonged to an independent α-kinase clade, evolutionarily distinct from the MAPK cascade system, and might be participating in atypical stress-response or metabolic regulation process. Cluster analysis revealed 3 temporal expression patterns for the 15 up-regulated kinase genes: gradually up-regulated, highly expressed at midolle stage late stage, and stably expressed. Co-expression and correlation network analysis demonstrated that key kinases genes
FOIG_08124 and
FOIG_06776 were positively correlated with multiple PHI homologous genes, forming an regulation network centered on
FOIG_08124 and
FOIG_06776.【Conclusion】 FOIG_08124, a core MAPK cascade kinase, likely plays crucial roles in fungal growth and pathogenicity, while FOIG_06776 represents a functionally diverged kinase group that may mediate atypical metabolic responses and the regulation of host adaptation. Both
FOIG_08124 and
FOIG_06776 genes show broad associations with PHI homologous genes, indicating that they play important roles in adaptive responses during disease progression and in the regulation of pathogenicity.