Transcriptomic and Proteomic Studies of Phytoplasma-Infected Plants

Abstract

Recent advances in the development of high-throughput techniques and the corresponding software tools have enabled novel -omics approaches that are aimed at a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying phytoplasma pathogenicity and interactions with their hosts. In this chapter, the literature on transcriptomic and proteomic studies on phytoplasma-infected plants are outlined and summarised. Although data are available only for a few plant species infected with phytoplasmas belonging to different taxonomic groups, some general conclusions on interactions with their plant hosts can be deduced. Some of the most studied effects on phytoplasma-infected plants include (i) down-regulation of a wide array of genes associated with photosynthesis and changes in the corresponding protein levels; (ii) alterations to carbohydrate metabolism at the transcriptome and proteome levels; (iii) differential expression of plant secondary metabolites, as mainly up-regulation of genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis; and (iv) changes in expression of genes related to auxin, jasmonic acid and salicylic acid signalling pathways involved in plant defence responses. Furthermore, studies on the roles of micro-RNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation during plant responses to phytoplasmas, and on the functions of long noncoding RNAs during phytoplasma infection, are also reviewed.