Identifying anthracnose resistance genes involving in ROS and JA accumulation

Anthracnose, caused by one of the top ten most destructive plant fungal pathogen Colletotrichum spp., is a devastating disease that infects a wide range of plant species and severely compromises crop yields. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant resistance to anthracnose is therefore crucial for developing effective control strategies. In previous studies, we have identified two broad-spectrum disease resistance genes, Cystatin 6 (CYS6) and Botrytis cinerea-induced F-box protein 1 (BFP1), which encode proteins modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and jasmonic acid (JA) accumulation, respectively. Here, we investigated whether these genes contribute to anthracnose resistance. Our results demonstrated that Colletotrichum higginsianum infection caused milder symptoms in CYS6 and BFP1 overexpression lines compared to wild-type plants. Importantly, neither BFP1 nor CYS6 overexpression adversely affected plant growth or seed production. The evolutionary conservation of CYS6 and BFP1 across different crops were also checked. Our study highlights the potential of CYS6 and BFP1 as promising targets for molecular breeding programs aimed at developing anthracnose-resistant crops.