What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to characterize the epigenetic and transcriptional responses of wheat to Bgt infection through histone modification analysis.

June 12, 2026Open Access

Dynamics of H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 histone modifications in response to powdery mildew infection in common wheat

Key Points

The study aims to characterize the epigenetic and transcriptional responses of wheat to Bgt infection through histone modification analysis.
Integrative transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq on wheat leaves infected by mixed races of Bgt.
Histone modification assessed via CUT&Tag analysis for H3K4me3 and H3K36me3.
Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of defense-related genes to evaluate their roles in resistance.
Bgt infection led to significant transcriptional reprogramming in wheat, with changes in histone modifications.
H3K4me3 increased at promoter regions, while H3K36me3 peaked in genic regions post-infection.
VIGS targeting TaCIPK19, TaWRKY19, and TaARF4 enhanced resistance, whereas silencing TaCRT and TaCHIT8 increased susceptibility.

Abstract

Powdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici ( Bgt ), is one of the major pathogens that reduces wheat yield. Epigenetic regulation underlying wheat defense against Bgt infection, however, remains poorly characterized. Here, we conducted an integrative transcriptomic and histone H3 modification analysis on wheat leaves infected by mixed races of Bgt . RNA-seq revealed extensive transcriptional reprogramming in wheat leaves upon Bgt infection, with significant changes in a number of functional genes including those associated with histone modification. CUT&Tag analysis of two key activating histone marks, H3K4me3 and H3K36me3, showed an overall decrease in both modifications after infection. Nevertheless, H3K4me3 modification was notably increased in promoter regions, whereas H3K36me3 peaks were more enriched in the genic regions, indicating that Bgt infection induced a redistribution of these active histone marks. Integrative analysis revealed that only a subset of genes exhibited concordant changes between transcriptional levels and either H3K4me3 or H3K36me3 enrichment. Defense-related genes, including TaARF4 , TaWRKY19 , and TaCIPK19 , were consistently down-regulated at both transcriptional and histone modification levels after Bgt infection, while TaCHIT8 , TaPOD , and Calreticulin ( TaCRT ) were up-regulated. Consistently, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of TaCIPK19 , TaWRKY19 , and TaARF4 enhanced resistance to Bgt , whereas silencing of TaCRT and TaCHIT8 increased susceptibility. Our integrative analysis shows that Bgt infection induces widespread transcriptional changes and alters the distribution of active histone marks, H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. Together, our results suggest that Bgt infection triggers coordinated epigenetic and transcriptional reprogramming, exemplified by defense-related genes such as TaCIPK19 , TaWRKY19 , and TaARF4 , whose roles in wheat resistance was confirmed by VIGS assays.

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