Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-coding RNAs with a length of more than 200 nucleotides. LncRNAs are functional factors involved in various biological processes at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, which have been widely studied in animals and plants, but less in fungi. In our previous research, 352 Verticillium dahliae lncRNAs were identified by high-throughput sequencing, and pathogenicity-related lncRNAs were determined by their differential expression during infections on host plants of cotton. It is known that a long non-coding natural antisense transcript (lncNAT) transcribed from the antisense strand of a gene, mainly plays cis-regulatory functions. Thus, in this study, V. dahliae lncNATs and their function were further analysed based on our previous research of V. dahliae lncRNAs. In total, 116 of 352 lncRNAs were identified as lncNATs, and the function of their associated genes that are mainly enriched in transcriptional regulation was assessed. Moreover, 12 lncNATs were significantly differentially expressed during infection in cotton, and their associated genes are involved in its pathogenicity. In addition, the expression pattern between lncNAT010781 and lncNAT005061 and their associated genes were detected. Both lncNATs and their associated genes were up-regulated during the inoculation of cotton. Overexpression of lncNAT005061 enhanced the virulence of Vd991 on cotton. In conclusion, these results suggest that V. dahliae lncNATs play a pathogenic role when cotton host plants are infected, which will provide new targets for analysing the virulence regulatory network in V. dahliae.

中文翻译：

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棉花感染过程中大丽黄萎病菌致病性相关的长非编码天然反义转录本

长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）是长度超过200个核苷酸的非编码RNA。LncRNA是参与转录、转录后和表观遗传调控等多种生物过程的功能因子，在动物和植物中得到了广泛的研究，但在真菌中的研究较少。在我们前期的研究中， 通过高通量测序鉴定了352个大丽黄萎病lncRNA，并通过其在棉花寄主植物感染过程中的差异表达来确定致病性相关的lncRNA。众所周知，由基因反义链转录而来的长非编码天然反义转录本(lncNAT)主要发挥顺式调节功能。因此，本研究在前期对V. dahliae lncRNA研究的基础上，进一步分析了V. dahliae lncNATs及其功能。总共，352 个 lncRNA 中的 116 个被鉴定为 lncNAT，并评估了主要富含转录调控的相关基因的功能。此外，12个lncNAT在棉花感染过程中存在显着差异表达，其相关基因参与其致病性。此外，还检测了lncNAT010781和lncNAT005061之间的表达模式及其相关基因。在棉花接种过程中，lncNAT 及其相关基因均上调。lncNAT005061的过表达增强了Vd991对棉花的毒力。总之，这些结果表明，大丽弧菌lncNATs在棉花寄主植物感染时发挥致病作用，这将为分析大丽弧菌毒力调控网络提供新的靶点。