Expression Analysis of Sweetpotato Sporamin Genes in Response to Infection with the Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.]) is a globally important root crop cultivated for food and industrial processes. The crop is susceptible to the root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne incognita, a major plant-parasitic RKN that reduces the yield and quality of sweetpotato. Previous transcriptomic and proteomic analyses identified several genes that displayed differential expression patterns in susceptible and resistant cultivars in response to M. incognita infection. Among these, several sporamin genes were identified for RKN resilience. Sporamin is a storage protein primarily found in sweetpotato and morning glory (Ipomoea nil). In this study, transcriptional analysis was employed to investigate the role of sporamin genes in the defense response of sweetpotato against RKN infection in three susceptible and three resistant cultivars. Twenty-three sporamin genes were identified in sweetpotato and classified as group A or group B sporamin genes based on comparisons with characterized sweetpotato and Japanese morning glory sporamins. Two group A sporamin genes showed significantly elevated levels of expression in resistant but not in susceptible cultivars. These results suggest that the elevated expression of specific sporamin genes may play a crucial role in protecting sweetpotato roots from RKN infection.