Transcriptomic profiling and differential alternative splicing of citrus in response to infestation by Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.
4 affiliations
- 1College of Life Sciences, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China.
- 2Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
- 3College of Life Sciences, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China. [email protected].
- 4Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Pest and Disease Control of Featured Horticultural Plants/National Navel Orange Engineering Research Center, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is the principal vector of huanglongbing pathogens and poses a severe threat to citrus production worldwide. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation mediated by alternative splicing (AS) are well-established mechanisms underlying plant resistance to insect infestation. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of these processes in citrus following D. citri infestation is essential for developing effective host resistance strategies.Results
We investigated transcriptomic alterations and AS dynamics in citrus shoots at 24 h post-feeding (hpf24) and 48 h post-feeding (hpf48) following D. citri infestation. A total of 2,273 and 3,049 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at hpf24 and hpf48, respectively. Among these, 19 upregulated DEGs were associated with jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling pathways, indicating activation of JA-mediated defense responses. AS analysis revealed that feeding by D. citri significantly altered pre‑mRNA splicing. At hpf24, 422 differential alternative splicing (DAS) events corresponding to 363 genes were detected, and this number increased to 717 DAS events corresponding to 580 genes at hpf48, with intron retention being the predominant AS type. Integrative analysis of gene expression and AS profiles demonstrated a limited overlap between DEGs and differentially spliced genes. This suggests that AS may function, at least partially, independently of transcriptional regulation during citrus defense against D. citri infestation. Finally, nine JA-related genes were selected for validation of their relative expression levels by quantitative real-time PCR.Conclusions
Our study elucidates the coordinated transcriptomic and spliceomic reprogramming underlying citrus defense responses to D. citri infestation, highlighting the activation of JA‑mediated defenses and widespread AS events that largely operate independently of transcriptional changes. These findings provide novel molecular insights into citrus-psyllid interactions, with potential implications for future resistance breeding strategies.
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BibTeX
@article{zhu2026transcriptomic,
title = {{Transcriptomic profiling and differential alternative splicing of citrus in response to infestation by Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.}},
author = {Wenhong Zhu and Liang Chen and Chaozhi Shangguan and Liqun Zhong and Xiudao Yu},
journal = {BMC genomics},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12864-026-13241-5},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958004},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Transcriptomic profiling and differential alternative splicing of citrus in response to infestation by Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.
AU - Wenhong Zhu
AU - Liang Chen
AU - Chaozhi Shangguan
AU - Liqun Zhong
AU - Xiudao Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - BMC genomics
DO - 10.1186/s12864-026-13241-5
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958004
AB - Background The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is the principal vector of huanglongbing pathogens and poses a severe threat to citrus production worldwide. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation mediated by alternative splicing (AS) are well-established mechanisms underlying plant resistance to insect infestation. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of these processes in citrus following D. citri infestation is essential for developing effective host resistance strategies.Results We investigated transcriptomic alterations and AS dynamics in citrus shoots at 24 h post-feeding (hpf24) and 48 h post-feeding (hpf48) following D. citri infestation. A total of 2,273 and 3,049 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified at hpf24 and hpf48, respectively. Among these, 19 upregulated DEGs were associated with jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling pathways, indicating activation of JA-mediated defense responses. AS analysis revealed that feeding by D. citri significantly altered pre‑mRNA splicing. At hpf24, 422 differential alternative splicing (DAS) events corresponding to 363 genes were detected, and this number increased to 717 DAS events corresponding to 580 genes at hpf48, with intron retention being the predominant AS type. Integrative analysis of gene expression and AS profiles demonstrated a limited overlap between DEGs and differentially spliced genes. This suggests that AS may function, at least partially, independently of transcriptional regulation during citrus defense against D. citri infestation. Finally, nine JA-related genes were selected for validation of their relative expression levels by quantitative real-time PCR.Conclusions Our study elucidates the coordinated transcriptomic and spliceomic reprogramming underlying citrus defense responses to D. citri infestation, highlighting the activation of JA‑mediated defenses and widespread AS events that largely operate independently of transcriptional changes. These findings provide novel molecular insights into citrus-psyllid interactions, with potential implications for future resistance breeding strategies.
SN - 1471-2164
ER -