{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T00:44:42Z","timestamp":1788828282568,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]],"date-time":"2022-11-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1667520000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Subject of Key R &amp; D Plan of Shandong Provincial Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project","award":["2021LZGC023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021LZGC023"]}]},{"name":"The Subject of Key R &amp; D Plan of Shandong Provincial Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project","award":["2019LY002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019LY002"]}]},{"name":"Shandong Agricultural Science and Technology Fund (Forestry Science and technology innovation) project","award":["2021LZGC023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021LZGC023"]}]},{"name":"Shandong Agricultural Science and Technology Fund (Forestry Science and technology innovation) project","award":["2019LY002"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019LY002"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>As a consequence of long-term coevolution and natural selection, the leaves of mulberry (Morus alba) trees have become the best food source for silkworms (Bombyx mori). Nevertheless, the molecular and genomic basis of defense response remains largely unexplored. In the present study, we assessed changes in the transcriptome changes of mulberry in response to silkworm larval feeding at 0, 3, and 6 h. A total of 4709 (up = 2971, down = 1738) and 3009 (up = 1868, down = 1141) unigenes were identified after 3 and 6 h of silkworm infestation, respectively. MapMan enrichment analysis results show structural traits such as leaf surface wax, cell wall thickness and lignification form the first physical barrier to feeding by the silkworms. Cluster analysis revealed six unique temporal patterns of transcriptome changes. We predicted that mulberry promoted rapid changes in signaling and other regulatory processes to deal with mechanical damage, photosynthesis impairment, and other injury caused by herbivores within 3\u20136 h. LRR-RK coding genes (THE1, FER) was predicted participated in perception of cell wall perturbation in mulberry responding to silkworm feeding. Ca2+ signal sensors (CMLs), ROS (OST1, SOS3), RBOHD\/F, CDPKs, and ABA were part of the regulatory network after silkworm feeding. Jasmonic acid (JA) signal transduction was predicted to act in silkworm feeding response, 10 JA signaling genes (such as OPR3, JAR1, and JAZ1) and 21 JA synthesis genes (such as LOX2, AOS, and ACX1) were upregulated after silkworm feeding for 3 h. Besides, genes of \u201calpha-Linolenic acid metabolism\u201d and \u201cphenylpropanoid biosynthesis\u201d were activated in 3 h to reprogram secondary metabolism. Collectively, these findings provided valuable insights into silkworm herbivory-induced regulatory and metabolic processes in mulberry, which might help improve the coevolution of silkworm and mulberry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms232113519","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]],"date-time":"2022-11-04T09:15:37Z","timestamp":1667553337000},"page":"13519","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Key Defense Genes and Mechanisms in Mulberry (Morus alba) Leaves against Silkworms (Bombyx mori)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Xuejie","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinxin","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuqian","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhicheng","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7586-4741","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shoujin","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4651-1178","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luoyan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Lab of Plant Stress Research, College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, No. 88 Wenhuadong Road, Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1016\/j.plaphy.2018.10.007","article-title":"Mulberry (Morus alba) MmSK gene enhances tolerance to drought stress in transgenic mulberry","volume":"132","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"Plant Physiol. 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