Powdery mildew (PM), caused by Podosphaera xanthii, poses a substantial menace to the worldwide Cucurbita pepo yield. The VQ family plays a broad role in plant growth, development, responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, and environmental signaling. To investigate the responsiveness of the CpVQ30 gene to powdery mildew infection in Cucurbita pepo L., CpVQ30 was transiently overexpressed in virus-susceptible and powdery mildew-susceptible material, YF. Results from GFP fluorescence assay, viral disease phenotyping, and qPCR confirmed the successful acquisition of Cucurbita pepo plants transiently overexpressing CpVQ30. Compared to the control (empty vector), following powdery mildew infection, the transient overexpression of CpVQ30 exacerbated the powdery mildew symptoms, leading to the complete leaf coverage with white powder. There was an elevation in reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, alongside reduced antioxidant enzyme activities, relative chlorophyll content, and callose content. Furthermore, powdery mildew mycelium grew faster and accumulated more. Moreover, the expression levels of callose synthase gene and defense-related genes were diminished. CpVQ30 heightened the susceptibility of Cucurbita pepo to powdery mildew. The study establishes a theoretical foundation for future gene silencing and genetic breeding, with the ultimate aim of developing powdery mildew-resistant Cucurbita pepo germplasm to improve both nutritional quality and yield.

中文翻译：

---

CpVQ30 过表达的增加形式增加了葫芦对白粉病的易感性，通过氧化应激和胼胝质降解


由 Podosphaera xanthii 引起的白粉病 （PM） 对全球葫芦产量构成重大威胁。VQ 家族在植物生长、发育、对生物和非生物胁迫的反应以及环境信号传导中发挥着广泛的作用。为研究葫芦白粉病侵袭 CpVQ30 基因的响应性，CpVQ30 在病毒敏感和白粉病敏感材料 YF 中瞬时过表达。GFP 荧光测定、病毒病表型分析和 qPCR 的结果证实，成功获得了瞬时过表达 CpVQ30 的葫芦草植物。与对照（空载体）相比，在白粉病感染后，CpVQ30 的瞬时过表达加剧了白粉病症状，导致叶片完全被白色粉末覆盖。活性氧 （ROS） 积累和丙二醛 （MDA） 含量升高，同时抗氧化酶活性、相对叶绿素含量和胼胝质含量降低。此外，白粉病菌丝体生长更快，积累更多。此外，胼胝质合酶基因和防御相关基因的表达水平降低。CpVQ30 提高了葫芦对白粉病的易感性。该研究为未来的基因沉默和遗传育种奠定了理论基础，最终目标是开发抗白粉病的葫芦种质，以提高营养品质和产量。