Foliar transcriptomes reveal candidate genes for late blight resistance in cultivars of diploid potato Solanum goniocalyx

Abstract Characterization of major resistance (R) genes to late blight (LB) –caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans– is very important for potato breeding. The objective of this study was to identify novel genes for resistance to LB from cultivated diploid Solanum goniocalyx. Using comparative analysis with a bio-conductor package for differential expression analysis of transcriptomes of two S. goniocalyx accessions with contrasting levels of resistance to LB were analyzed digital gene expression data (edgeR). As a result, various differentially expressed genes (P ≤ 0.0001, Log2FC ≥ 2, FDR < 0.001) were noted. The combination of transcriptomic analysis provided a reasonable number of candidate genes that are overexpressed and under expressed, thereby giving to S. goniocalyx high resistance to LB. The functional analysis of R genes and their corresponding proteins related to disease resistance, NBS-LRR domain proteins and specific disease resistance proteins. Comparative analysis of specific tissue transcriptomes in resistant and susceptible genotypes can be used for identifying rapidly candidate R genes, thus adding novel genes from S. goniocalyx for host plant resistance to P. infestans in potato.