Description
ABSTRACT: Background- Musa acuminata cv. Berangan (AAA) is a type of banana locally grown in Malaysia. These bananas are also facing a major threat from a typical soil borne fungus identified as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (FocR4). Its characteristics as a complex pathogen manifesting as subtypes or races are the main reasons it is difficult to control. Genome sequence availability of the double haploid Musa acuminata originating from Pahang has become very useful to analyse RNA-seq reads and also to identify the transcriptome profile of the host response. Results-High throughput sequencing was accomplished using RNA-Seq technology based on the Illumina HiSeqTm 2000 platform. Three sets of library derived from infected plants between different time points (2, 48, 96 hrs) shows over forty million reads were generated, each corresponding to coverage of > 4, 000, 000, 000 to < 8,000,000,000 bases. About 0.10-66 % reads were mapped to Musa acuminata DH Pahang genome sequence. Conclusion-This study provides the statistical analysis of the sequence reads. Based on this information further analysis on gene expression patterns influenced by infection of Foc race 4 within the tested groups and time points will help in understanding the host pathogenic responses.