Unveiling Methods to Stimulate Plant Resistance against Pathogens.

Plant diseases caused by pathogens pose significant threats to agricultural productivity and food security worldwide. The traditional approach of relying on chemical pesticides for disease management has proven to be unsustainable, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. One promising strategy is to enhance plant resistance against pathogens through various methods. This review aims to unveil and explore effective methods for stimulating plant resistance, transforming vulnerable plants into vigilant defenders against pathogens. We discuss both conventional and innovative approaches, including genetic engineering, induced systemic resistance (ISR), priming, and the use of natural compounds. Furthermore, we analyze the underlying mechanisms involved in these methods, highlighting their potential advantages and limitations. Through an understanding of these methods, scientists and agronomists can develop novel strategies to combat plant diseases effectively while minimizing the environmental impact. Ultimately, this research offers valuable insights into harnessing the plant's innate defense mechanisms and paves the way for sustainable disease management practices in agriculture.

Plant Immunity against Tobamoviruses.

Tobamoviruses are a group of plant viruses that pose a significant threat to agricultural crops worldwide. In this review, we focus on plant immunity against tobamoviruses, including pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), effector-triggered immunity (ETI), the RNA-targeting pathway, phytohormones, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and autophagy. Further, we highlight the genetic resources for resistance against tobamoviruses in plant breeding and discuss future directions on plant protection against tobamoviruses.

Engineering effector-triggered immunity in rice: Obstacles and perspectives.

Improving rice immunity is one of the most effective approaches to reduce yield loss by biotic factors, with the aim of increasing rice production by 2050 amidst limited natural resources. Triggering a fast and strong immune response to pathogens, effector-triggered immunity (ETI) has intrigued scientists to intensively study and utilize the mechanisms for engineering highly resistant plants. The conservation of ETI components and mechanisms across species enables the use of ETI components to generate broad-spectrum resistance in plants. Numerous efforts have been made to introduce new resistance (R) genes, widen the effector recognition spectrum and generate on-demand R genes. Although engineering ETI across plant species is still associated with multiple challenges, previous attempts have provided an enhanced understanding of ETI mechanisms. Here, we provide a survey of recent reports in the engineering of rice R genes. In addition, we suggest a framework for future studies of R gene-effector interactions, including genome-scale investigations in both rice and pathogens, followed by structural studies of R proteins and effectors, and potential strategies to use important ETI components to improve rice immunity.

Characterization of non-specific lipid transfer protein (nsLtp) gene families in the Brassica napus pangenome reveals abundance variation.

BACKGROUND: Brassica napus is an important agricultural species, improving stress resistance was one of the main breeding goals at present. Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are small, basic proteins which are involved in some biotic or abiotic stress responses. B. napus is susceptible to a variety of fungal diseases, so identify the BnLTPs and their expression in disease responses is very important. The common reference genome of B. napus does not contain all B. napus genes because of gene presence/absence variations between individuals. Therefore, it was necessary to search for candidate BnLTP genes in the B. napus pangenome. RESULTS: In the present study, the BnLTP genes were identified throughout the pangenome, and different BnLTP genes were presented among varieties. Totally, 246 BnLTP genes were identified and could be divided into five types (1, 2, C, D, and G). The classification, phylogenetic reconstruction, chromosome distribution, functional annotation, and gene expression were analyzed. We also identified potential cis-elements that respond to biotic and abiotic stresses in the 2 kb upstream regions of all BnLTP genes. RNA sequencing analysis showed that the BnLTP genes were involved in the response to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection. We identified 32 BnLTPs linked to blackleg resistance quantitative trait locus (QTL). CONCLUSION: The identification and analysis of LTP genes in the B. napus pangenome could help to elucidate the function of BnLTP family members and provide new information for future molecular breeding in B. napus.

Potential roles for pattern molecule of PAMP-triggered immunity in improving crop cold tolerance.

KEY MESSAGE: The application of flagellin 22 (flg22), the most widely studied PAMP, enhance crop cold tolerance. ICE1-CBF pathway and SA signaling is involved in the alleviation of cold injury by flg22 treatment. Pathogen infection cross-activates cold response and increase cold tolerance of host plants. However, it is not possible to use the infection to increase cold tolerance of field plants. Here flagellin 22 (flg22), the most widely studied PAMP (pathogen-associated molecular patterns), was used to mimic the pathogen infection to cross-activate cold response. Flg22 treatment alleviated the injury caused by freezing in Arabidopsis, oilseed and tobacco. In Arabidopsis, flg22 activated the expression of immunity and cold-related genes. Moreover, the flg22 induced alleviation of cold injury was lost in NahG transgenic line (SA-deficient), sid2-2 and npr1-1 mutant plants, and flg22-induced expression of cold tolerance-related genes, which indicating that salicylic acid signaling pathway is required for the alleviation of cold injury by flg22 treatment. In short flg22 application can be used to enhance cold tolerance in field via a salicylic acid-depended pathway.

Fungal pathogens of cereal crops: Proteomic insights into fungal pathogenesis, host defense, and resistance.

Fungal infections of cereal crops pose a significant risk to global food security through reduced grain production and quality, as well as contamination of animal feed and human products for consumption. To combat fungal disease, we need to understand how the pathogen adapts and survives within the hostile environment of the host and how the host's defense response can be modulated for protection from disease. Such investigations offer insight into fungal pathogenesis, host immunity, the development of resistance, and mechanisms of action for currently-used control strategies. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics provides a technologically-advanced platform to define differences among fungal pathogens and their hosts at the protein level, supporting the discovery of proteins critical for disease, and uncovering novel host responses driving susceptibly or resistance of the host. In this Review, we explore the role of mass spectrometry-based proteomics in defining the intricate relationship between a pathogen and host during fungal disease of cereal crops with a focus on recent discoveries derived from the globally-devastating diseases of Fusarium head blight, Rice blast, and Powdery mildew. We highlight advances made for each of these diseases and discuss opportunities to extrapolate findings to further our fight against fungal pathogens on a global scale.

Chromosome-scale assembly reveals asymmetric paleo-subgenome evolution and targets for the acceleration of fungal resistance breeding in the nut crop, pecan.

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a tree nut crop of worldwide economic importance that is rich in health-promoting factors. However, pecan production and nut quality are greatly challenged by environmental stresses such as the outbreak of severe fungal diseases. Here, we report a high-quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly of the controlled-cross pecan cultivar 'Pawnee' constructed by integrating Nanopore sequencing and Hi-C technologies. Phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses reveal two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events and two paleo-subgenomes in pecan and walnut. Time estimates suggest that the recent WGD event and considerable genome rearrangements in pecan and walnut account for expansions in genome size and chromosome number after the divergence from bayberry. The two paleo-subgenomes differ in size and protein-coding gene sets. They exhibit uneven ancient gene loss, asymmetrical distribution of transposable elements (especially LTR/Copia and LTR/Gypsy), and expansions in transcription factor families (such as the extreme pecan-specific expansion in the far-red impaired response 1 family), which are likely to reflect the long evolutionary history of species in the Juglandaceae. A whole-genome scan of resequencing data from 86 pecan scab-associated core accessions identified 47 chromosome regions containing 185 putative candidate genes. Significant changes were detected in the expression of candidate genes associated with the chitin response pathway under chitin treatment in the scab-resistant and scab-susceptible cultivars 'Excell' and 'Pawnee'. These findings enable us to identify key genes that may be important susceptibility factors for fungal diseases in pecan. The high-quality sequences are valuable resources for pecan breeders and will provide a foundation for the production and quality improvement of tree nut crops.

Toward Understanding the Molecular Recognition of Fungal Chitin and Activation of the Plant Defense Mechanism in Horticultural Crops.

Large volumes of fruit and vegetable production are lost during postharvest handling due to attacks by necrotrophic fungi. One of the promising alternatives proposed for the control of postharvest diseases is the induction of natural defense responses, which can be activated by recognizing molecules present in pathogens, such as chitin. Chitin is one of the most important components of the fungal cell wall and is recognized through plant membrane receptors. These receptors belong to the receptor-like kinase (RLK) family, which possesses a transmembrane domain and/or receptor-like protein (RLP) that requires binding to another RLK receptor to recognize chitin. In addition, these receptors have extracellular LysM motifs that participate in the perception of chitin oligosaccharides. These receptors have been widely studied in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) and Oryza sativa (O. sativa); however, it is not clear how the molecular recognition and plant defense mechanisms of chitin oligosaccharides occur in other plant species or fruits. This review includes recent findings on the molecular recognition of chitin oligosaccharides and how they activate defense mechanisms in plants. In addition, we highlight some of the current advances in chitin perception in horticultural crops.

Extracellular DNA as an elicitor of broad-spectrum resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Like in mammals, the plant immune system has evolved to perceive damage. Damaged-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are endogenous signals generated in wounded or infected tissue after pathogen or insect attack. Although extracellular DNA (eDNA) is a DAMP signal that induces immune responses, plant responses after eDNA perception remain largely unknown. Here, we report that signaling defenses but not direct defense responses are induced after eDNA applications enhancing broad-range plant protection. A screening of defense signaling and hormone biosynthesis marker genes revealed that OXI1, CML37 and MPK3 are relevant eDNA-Induced Resistance markers (eDNA-IR). Additionally, we observed that eDNA from several Arabidopsis ecotypes and other phylogenetically distant plants such as citrus, bean and, more surprisingly, a monocotyledonous plant such as maize upregulates eDNA-IR marker genes. Using 3,3'-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) and aniline blue staining methods, we observed that H2O2 but not callose was strongly accumulated following self-eDNA treatments. Finally, eDNA resulted in effective induced resistance in Arabidopsis against the pathogens Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, Pseudomonas syringae, and Botrytis cinerea and against aphid infestation, reducing the number of nymphs and moving forms. Hence, the unspecificity of DNA origin and the wide range of insects to which eDNA can protect opens many questions about the mechanisms behind eDNA-IR.

De novo genome assembly of a foxtail millet cultivar Huagu11 uncovered the genetic difference to the cultivar Yugu1, and the genetic mechanism of imazethapyr tolerance.

BACKGROUND: Setaria italica is the second-most widely planted species of millets in the world and an important model grain crop for the research of C4 photosynthesis and abiotic stress tolerance. Through three genomes assembly and annotation efforts, all genomes were based on next generation sequencing technology, which limited the genome continuity. RESULTS: Here we report a high-quality whole-genome of new cultivar Huagu11, using single-molecule real-time sequencing and High-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) mapping technologies. The total assembly size of the Huagu11 genome was 408.37 Mb with a scaffold N50 size of 45.89 Mb. Compared with the other three reported millet genomes based on the next generation sequencing technology, the Huagu11 genome had the highest genomic continuity. Intraspecies comparison showed about 94.97 and 94.66% of the Yugu1 and Huagu11 genomes, respectively, were able to be aligned as one-to-one blocks with four chromosome inversion. The Huagu11 genome contained approximately 19.43 Mb Presence/absence Variation (PAV) with 627 protein-coding transcripts, while Yugu1 genomes had 20.53 Mb PAV sequences encoding 737 proteins. Overall, 969,596 Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and 156,282 insertion-deletion (InDels) were identified between these two genomes. The genome comparison between Huagu11 and Yugu1 should reflect the genetic identity and variation between the cultivars of foxtail millet to a certain extent. The Ser-626-Aln substitution in acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS) was found to be relative to the imazethapyr tolerance in Huagu11. CONCLUSIONS: A new improved high-quality reference genome sequence of Setaria italica was assembled, and intraspecies genome comparison determined the genetic identity and variation between the cultivars of foxtail millet. Based on the genome sequence, it was inferred that the Ser-626-Aln substitution in AHAS was responsible for the imazethapyr tolerance in Huagu11. The new improved reference genome of Setaria italica will promote the genic and genomic studies of this species and be beneficial for cultivar improvement.

Investigation of long non-coding RNAs as regulatory players of grapevine response to powdery and downy mildew infection.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are regulatory transcripts of length > 200 nt. Owing to the rapidly progressing RNA-sequencing technologies, lncRNAs are emerging as considerable nodes in the plant antifungal defense networks. Therefore, we investigated their role in Vitis vinifera (grapevine) in response to obligate biotrophic fungal phytopathogens, Erysiphe necator (powdery mildew, PM) and Plasmopara viticola (downy mildew, DM), which impose huge agro-economic burden on grape-growers worldwide. RESULTS: Using computational approach based on RNA-seq data, 71 PM- and 83 DM-responsive V. vinifera lncRNAs were identified and comprehensively examined for their putative functional roles in plant defense response. V. vinifera protein coding sequences (CDS) were also profiled based on expression levels, and 1037 PM-responsive and 670 DM-responsive CDS were identified. Next, co-expression analysis-based functional annotation revealed their association with gene ontology (GO) terms for 'response to stress', 'response to biotic stimulus', 'immune system process', etc. Further investigation based on analysis of domains, enzyme classification, pathways enrichment, transcription factors (TFs), interactions with microRNAs (miRNAs), and real-time quantitative PCR of lncRNAs and co-expressing CDS pairs suggested their involvement in modulation of basal and specific defense responses such as: Ca2+-dependent signaling, cell wall reinforcement, reactive oxygen species metabolism, pathogenesis related proteins accumulation, phytohormonal signal transduction, and secondary metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the identified lncRNAs provide insights into the underlying intricacy of grapevine transcriptional reprogramming/post-transcriptional regulation to delay or seize the living cell-dependent pathogen growth. Therefore, in addition to defense-responsive genes such as TFs, the identified lncRNAs can be further examined and leveraged to candidates for biotechnological improvement/breeding to enhance fungal stress resistance in this susceptible fruit crop of economic and nutritional importance.

Comparative transcriptome profiling and co-expression network analysis uncover the key genes associated withearly-stage resistance to Aspergillus flavus in maize.

BACKGROUND: The fungus Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) is a serious threat to maize (Zea mays) production worldwide. It causes considerable yield and economic losses, and poses a health risk to humans and livestock due to the high toxicity of aflatoxin. However, key genes and regulatory networks conferring maize resistance to A. flavus are not clear, especially at the early stage of infection. Here, we performed a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of two maize inbred lines with contrasting resistance to A. flavus infection. RESULTS: The pairwise comparisons between mock and infected kernels in each line during the first 6 h post inoculation (hpi) showed that maize resistance to A. flavus infection was specific to the genotype and infection stage, and defense pathways were strengthened in the resistant line. Further comparison of the two maize lines revealed that the infection-induced up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the resistant line might underlie the enhanced resistance. Gene co-expression network analysis by WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) identified 7 modules that were significantly associated with different infection stages, and 110 hub genes of these modules. These key regulators mainly participate in the biosynthesis of fatty acid and antibiotics. In addition, 90 candidate genes for maize resistance to A. flavus infection and/or aflatoxin contamination obtained in previous studies were confirmed to be differentially expressed between the resistant and susceptible lines within the first 6 hpi. CONCLUSION: This work unveiled more A. flavus resistance genes and provided a detailed regulatory network of early-stage resistance to A. flavus in maize.

Identification of cell wall-associated kinases as important regulators involved in Gossypium hirsutum resistance to Verticillium dahliae.

BACKGROUND: Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil borne fungus Verticillium dahliae, is a major threat to cotton production worldwide. An increasing number of findings indicate that WAK genes participate in plant-pathogen interactions, but their roles in cotton resistance to V. dahliae remain largely unclear. RESULTS: Here, we carried out a genome-wide analysis of WAK gene family in Gossypium hirsutum that resulted in the identification of 81 putative GhWAKs, which were all predicated to be localized on plasma membrane. In which, GhWAK77 as a representative was further located in tobacco epidermal cells using transient expression of fluorescent fusion proteins. All GhWAKs could be classified into seven groups according to their diverse protein domains, indicating that they might sense different outside signals to trigger intracellular signaling pathways that were response to various environmental stresses. A lot of cis-regulatory elements were predicted in the upstream region of GhWAKs and classified into four main groups including hormones, biotic, abiotic and light. As many as 28 GhWAKs, playing a potential role in the interaction between cotton and V. dahliae, were screened out by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. To further study the function of GhWAKs in cotton resistance to V. dahliae, VIGS technology was used to silence GhWAKs. At 20 dpi, VIGSed plants exhibited more chlorosis and wilting than the control plants. The disease indices of VIGSed plants were also significantly higher than those of the control. Furthermore, silencing of GhWAKs significantly affected the expression of JA- and SA-related marker genes, increased the spread of V. dahliae in the cotton stems, dramatically compromised V. dahliae-induced accumulation of lignin, H2O2 and NO, but enhanced POD activity. CONCLUSION: Our study presents a comprehensive analysis on cotton WAK gene family for the first time. Expression analysis and VIGS assay provided direct evidences on GhWAKs participation in the cotton resistance to V. dahliae.

Combining targeted metabolite analyses and transcriptomics to reveal the specific chemical composition and associated genes in the incompatible soybean variety PI437654 infected with soybean cyst nematode HG1.2.3.5.7.

BACKGROUND: Soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, is one of the most devastating pathogens of soybean and causes severe annual yield losses worldwide. Different soybean varieties exhibit different responses to H. glycines infection at various levels, such as the genomic, transcriptional, proteomic and metabolomic levels. However, there have not yet been any reports of the differential responses of incompatible and compatible soybean varieties infected with H. glycines based on combined metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses. RESULTS: In this study, the incompatible soybean variety PI437654 and three compatible soybean varieties, Williams 82, Zhonghuang 13 and Hefeng 47, were used to clarify the differences in metabolites and transcriptomics before and after the infection with HG1.2.3.5.7. A local metabolite-calibrated database was used to identify potentially differential metabolites, and the differences in metabolites and metabolic pathways were compared between the incompatible and compatible soybean varieties after inoculation with HG1.2.3.5.7. In total, 37 differential metabolites and 20 KEGG metabolic pathways were identified, which were divided into three categories: metabolites/pathways overlapped in the incompatible and compatible soybeans, and metabolites/pathways specific to either the incompatible or compatible soybean varieties. Twelve differential metabolites were found to be involved in predicted KEGG metabolite pathways. Moreover, 14 specific differential metabolites (such as significantly up-regulated nicotine and down-regulated D-aspartic acid) and their associated KEGG pathways (such as the tropane, piperidine and pyridine alkaloid biosynthesis, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism and arginine biosynthesis) were significantly altered and abundantly enriched in the incompatible soybean variety PI437654, and likely played pivotal roles in defending against HG1.2.3.5.7 infection. Three key metabolites (N-acetyltranexamic acid, nicotine and D,L-tryptophan) found to be significantly up-regulated in the incompatible soybean variety PI437654 infected by HG1.2.3.5.7 were classified into two types and used for combined analyses with the transcriptomic expression profiling. Associated genes were predicted, along with the likely corresponding biological processes, cellular components, molecular functions and pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Our results not only identified potential novel metabolites and associated genes involved in the incompatible response of PI437654 to soybean cyst nematode HG1.2.3.5.7, but also provided new insights into the interactions between soybeans and soybean cyst nematodes.

Mass spectrometric analysis of digesta does not improve the allergenicity assessment of GM crops.

An investigation of the potential allergenicity of newly expressed proteins in genetically modified (GM) crops comprises part of the assessment of GM crop safety. However, allergenicity is not completely predictable from a definitive assay result or set of protein characteristics, and scientific opinions regarding the data that should be used to assess allergenicity are continuously evolving. Early studies supported a correlation between the stability of a protein exposed to digestive enzymes such as pepsin and the protein's status as a potential allergen, but over time the conclusions of these earlier studies were not confirmed. Nonetheless, many regulatory authorities, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), continue to require digestibility analyses as a component of GM crop risk assessments. Moreover, EFSA has recently investigated the use of mass spectrometry (MS), to make digestion assays more predictive of allergy risk, because it can detect and identify small undigested peptides. However, the utility of MS is questionable in this context, since known allergenic peptides are unlikely to exist in protein candidates intended for commercial development. These protein candidates are pre-screened by the same bioinformatics processes that are normally used to identify MS targets. Therefore, MS is not a standalone allergen identification method and also cannot be used to predict previously unknown allergenic epitopes. Thus, the suggested application of MS for analysis of digesta does not improve the poor predictive power of digestion assays in identifying allergenic risk.

Historic exposure to herbivores, not constitutive traits, explains plant tolerance to herbivory in the case of two Medicago species (Fabaceae).

Mechanisms that allow plants to survive and reproduce after herbivory are considered to play a key role in plant evolution. In this study, we evaluated how tolerance varies in species with different historic exposure to herbivores considering ontogeny. We exposed the range-restricted species Medicago citrina and its closely related and widespread species M. arborea to one and two herbivory simulations (80 % aerial biomass loss). Physiological and growth parameters related to tolerance capacity were assessed to evaluate constitutive values (without herbivory) and induced tolerance after damage. Constitutive traits were not always related to greater tolerance, and each species compensated for herbivory through different traits. Herbivory damage only led to mortality in M. citrina; adults exhibited root biomass loss and increased oxidative stress after damage, but also compensated aerial biomass. Despite seedlings showed a lower death percentage than adults after herbivory in M. citrina, they showed less capacity to recover control values than adults. Moderate tolerance to M. arborea herbivory and low tolerance to M. citrina is found. Thus, although the constitutive characteristics are maintained in the lineage, the tolerance of plants decreases in M. citrina. That represents how plants respond to the lack of pressure from herbivores in their habitat.

Molecular characterization for food safety assessment of a genetically modified late blight resistant potato: an unusual case.

Standard food safety assessments of genetically modified crops require a thorough molecular characterization of the novel DNA as inserted into the plant that is intended for commercialization, as well as a comparison of agronomic and nutritional characteristics of the genetically modified to the non-modified counterpart. These characterization data are used to identify any unintended changes in the inserted DNA or in the modified plant that would require assessment for safety in addition to the assessment of the intended modification. An unusual case of an unintended effect discovered from the molecular characterization of a genetically modified late blight resistant potato developed for growing in Bangladesh and Indonesia is presented here. Not only was a significant portion of the plasmid vector backbone DNA inserted into the plant along with the intended insertion of an R-gene for late blight resistance, but the inserted DNA was split into two separate fragments and inserted into two separate chromosomes. One fragment carries the R-gene and the other fragment carries the NPTII selectable marker gene and the plasmid backbone DNA. The implications of this for the food safety assessment of this late blight resistant potato are considered.

Specialized 16SrX phytoplasmas induce diverse morphological and physiological changes in their respective fruit crops.

The host-pathogen combinations-Malus domestica (apple)/`Candidatus Phytoplasma mali´, Prunus persica (peach)/`Ca. P. prunorum´ and Pyrus communis (pear)/`Ca. P. pyri´ show different courses of diseases although the phytoplasma strains belong to the same 16SrX group. While infected apple trees can survive for decades, peach and pear trees die within weeks to few years. To this date, neither morphological nor physiological differences caused by phytoplasmas have been studied in these host plants. In this study, phytoplasma-induced morphological changes of the vascular system as well as physiological changes of the phloem sap and leaf phytohormones were analysed and compared with non-infected plants. Unlike peach and pear, infected apple trees showed substantial reductions in leaf and vascular area, affecting phloem mass flow. In contrast, in infected pear mass flow and physicochemical characteristics of phloem sap increased. Additionally, an increased callose deposition was detected in pear and peach leaves but not in apple trees in response to phytoplasma infection. The phytohormone levels in pear were not affected by an infection, while in apple and peach trees concentrations of defence- and stress-related phytohormones were increased. Compared with peach and pear trees, data from apple suggest that the long-lasting morphological adaptations in the vascular system, which likely cause reduced sap flow, triggers the ability of apple trees to survive phytoplasma infection. Some phytohormone-mediated defences might support the tolerance.

GhWRKY1-like enhances cotton resistance to Verticillium dahliae via an increase in defense-induced lignification and S monolignol content.

Cotton is one of the most important economic crops and is cultivated globally. Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil-borne hemibiotrophic fungus Verticillium dahliae, is the most destructive disease in cotton production for its infection strategies and great genetic plasticity. Recent studies have identified the accumulation of lignin is a general and basal defense reaction in plant immunity and cotton resistance to V. dahliae. However, the functions and regulatory mechanisms of transcription factors in cotton defense-induced lignification and lignin composition alteration were less reported. Here, we identified a WRKY transcription factor GhWRKY1-like from upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) as a positive regulator in resistance to V. dahliae via directly manipulating lignin biosynthesis. Further analysis revealed that GhWRKY1-like interacts with the promoters of lignin biosynthesis related genes GhPAL6 and GhCOMT1, and activates the expression of GhPAL6 and GhCOMT1, which led to enhanced total lignin especially S monomers biosynthesis. These results demonstrate that GhWRKY1-like enhances Verticillium wilt resistance via an increase in defense-induced lignification and broaden our knowledge of the roles of lignification and the lignin composition in plant defense responses.