Transcriptomic profiling reveals long non-coding RNAs correlated with antifungal resistance mechanism against Fusarium verticillioides in infected Zea mays crown root tissue

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103212

Fusarium verticillioides is the most common fungal pathogen of maize, causing several diseases and substantially reducing grain yield. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the infection process remain poorly understood due to the quantitative genetic basis of F. verticillioides tolerance. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the crown rot disease tolerance mechanism of the maize inbred lines ADK310 (R, tolerant) and ADK118 (S, sensitive) at morphological, microscopic, and transcriptomic levels during seedling development. The results showed that F. verticillioides heavily colonised the crown roots of maize seedlings at 21 days post-inoculation (dpi) after germination in infected soil. Disease symptoms began with the seedlings lying, coinciding with a 32% reduction in root length in the S line only. While shoot length remained unchanged in both lines, chlorophyll content decreased by 24% and 17% in the S and R lines, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis detected 2000 maize differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the highly infected R seedlings. Upregulation of Cyp450 , PEPCK, and lnc10 and downregulation of Ccy7, KNOLLE, and PEBP were confirmed in response to F. verticillioides infection during crown rot disease in maize. Over 13,000 maize and 544 F. verticillioides long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were also detected and characterised in response to infection. While maize lncRNAs were transcribed from intergenic regions, F. verticillioides lncRNAs largely overlapped with protein-coding loci and were transcribed from the sense strand. These data provide insights into lncRNA-mediated tolerance mechanisms against F. verticillioides, facilitating breeders in selecting tolerant lines and developing crown rot-resilient varieties for sustainable agriculture and improved yield.