Transcriptional analysis of Colletotrichum fructicola from Different Geographic regions inoculated to Camellia oleifera

Abstract Aim The study hopes to investigate differences in molecular processes and regulatory genes at different stages of infection of Colletotrichum fructicola, the dominant pathogen of oil tea (Camellia oleifera) anthracnose in China. Methods The study compared the pathogenicity of C. fructicola from different populations (Wuzhishan, Hainan province and Shaoyang, Hunan province), and gene expression of representative strains of the two populations before and after infection with Camellia oleifera using RNA sequencing. Results We found that C. fructicola from Wuzhishan has a stronger ability to infect and impact oil tea leaf tissue. Up-regulated genes in the two geographic populations following infected to oil tea were associated with a number of ribosome-related GO and KEGG pathways, and were significantly enriched in galactosidase activity, glutamine family amino acid metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism. Up-regulated gene lists associated with infection by the Wuzhishan strains were significantly enriched in ribosome-related metabolic pathways as well as purine metabolism pathways, while Shaoyang strains were not significantly enriched in these processes. Conclusions These results indicate that C. fructicola obtained sugars and amino acids from oil tea tissue to resist host immune pressure. Moreover, the greater regulation of purine metabolism pathway in the Wuzhishan strain inoculated to oil tea might contribute to its stronger pathogenicity.