AUTHOR=Ji Hui-Min , Zhao Min , Gao Ying , Cao Xin-Xin , Mao Hui-Ying , Zhou Yi , Fan Wen-Yu , Borkovich Katherine A. , Ouyang Shou-Qiang , Liu Peng 

TITLE=FRG3, a Target of slmiR482e-3p, Provides Resistance against the Fungal Pathogen Fusarium oxysporum in Tomato

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00026

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.00026

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The vast majority of plant disease resistance (<italic>R</italic>) genes encode nucleotide binding site–leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) proteins, which specifically determine the plant immune response and have been demonstrated to be targets of several microRNA (miRNA) families. The fungus <italic>Fusarium oxysporum</italic> f. sp. <italic>lycopersici</italic> (FOL) causes vascular wilt disease in tomato worldwide. Here, we explored a possible role for <italic>FGR3</italic> in tomato defense against FOL. <italic>FRG3</italic> is a predicted NBS-LRR like gene that is targeted by slmiR482e-3p, a member of slmiR482 miRNA family. Northern blot data demonstrated that all seven members of the slmiR482 family were regulated in diverse ways after infection by FOL. The ability of <italic>FRG3</italic> to be regulated by slmiR482e-3p was confirmed at the transcript level by co-expression studies in <italic>Nicotiana benthamiana</italic>. A virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) approach revealed that <italic>FRG3</italic> confers resistance to the Motelle tomato cultivar. Taken together, our study has identified a novel <italic>R</italic> gene, <italic>FRG3</italic>, which is targeted by slmiR482e-3p at the transcript level, and is necessary for resistance to tomato wilt disease <italic>in planta</italic>.</p>