Influence's evaluation of the rubber tree rootstock (Hevea brasiliensis) on the grafted clone gene expression.

Abstract

Natural rubber is a necessary raw material for products of several industries; its only commercial source is the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.). Although it is not native to the southeastern region of Brazil, the state of São Paulo is currently the largest producer due to the colder climate that makes it difficult to spread the agent that causes leaf blight, the primary pest of the rubber tree. These trees, when planted by seeds, show significant variation in latex production; to improve production, grafting is used, where only the most productive clones are propagated asexually. This method reduces the variability of the production. However, this method does not consolidate a totally uniform production even in the same climatic conditions. The observed variation is most likely due to the influence of the rootstock genotype since it is variable because it is the fruit of seeds. Many studies evaluate the influence of the rootstock in several species, using the RNA-seq methodology to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved. To date, no studies evaluating the influence of different rootstocks on rubber trees using transcriptomic analyses. Thus, the present study seeks to assemble the transcriptome of RRIM 600 clones, the most used in the state of São Paulo, grafted onto different rootstocks to identify genes, metabolic pathways and biological processes associated with the interaction of grafting in rubber trees. Increasing the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in these interactions may allow the creation of new approaches for improving rubber trees, with the selection of rootstocks being a previously unexplored path to increase productivity.