柱花草是世界热带和亚热带地区重要的豆科牧草，现已在我国华南地区大面积推广种植。柱花草炭疽病是柱花草最严重的病害，可导致牧草干重、品质和种子产量明显下降，然而目前在抗病基因和抗病分子机制方面的研究未取得良好进展。随着第二代高通量基因组测序技术的快速进步，研究植物对病原微生物应答的表达谱变化已成为了解寄主植物抗性或防卫基因应答表达的重要手段。柱花草炭疽病的高抗品种907是由感病品种热研2号柱花草经辐射突变选育而成，两个品种遗传背景非常接近，是研究炭疽病抗病分子机理的理想材料。本项目拟用胶孢炭疽菌分别接种907柱花草和热研2号柱花草，利用第二代高通量测序技术获取两个品种接种前后不同时间点样品的数字表达谱，分析柱花草对炭疽病的抗病或防卫基因应答的差异，结合模式植物已知抗病信号转导途径相关基因及其关系，了解柱花草对抗炭疽病菌应答基因的表达模式，以期为柱花草抗炭疽病分子机理研究和育种应用提供理论依据。

Stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis) is an important legume forage in tropical and subtropical areas in the world. It has been cultivated in a large area in Southern China. Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes) is of the most serious disease of stylo which causes yield loss as well as forage seed quality decline. Less investigation on this disease has been reported. No resistant gene has been identificated. With the rapid progress of RNA sequencing, the genes differential expression analysis has become an important method to study the host genes induced by plant pathogen. The cultivar cv. 907 was selected from cv. Reyan 2 which has been radioactive-treated. Similar genetic background makes them ideal for investigation in host response to anthracnose fungus. In this project, digital gene differential expression profiling of Stylo will be performed by RNA-seq using RNA isolated from various time-points after inoculation. Integrated analyses of these differential genes by comparison with signal transduction pathways of disease resistance in model plants will provide insides to understand the molecular mechanisms of Stylo responding to anthracnose disease and identify the resistance genes for the Stylo breeding.