Disentangling Arachis response to biotic and abiotic stress using multi-transcriptomics integration

Peanuts are a fundamental legume in human diet, yet they are exposed to simultaneous and interacting biotic and abiotic stresses. Root-knot nematodes (RKN) and reduced water availability constitute a significant threat to this crop. Resistance signatures to each of those stresses have been identified in wild relatives such as Arachis stenosperma and Arachis duranensis. However, plant response to multiple stresses is very complex, requiring the activation of the appropriate signalling pathways to respond to all or by prioritising the response to one stress factor. Despite the experimental data availability of wild Arachis spp. subjected to RKN and/or drought stresses, the global regulome and crosstalk among biotic and abiotic molecular mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we applied HIVE, an integrative analytical framework, to study transcriptional responses in two wild Arachis species subjected to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne arenaria and/or drought stress across six independent, unpaired experiments. We inferred a global regulome of biotic and abiotic response of two wild Arachis species from HIVE findings. The study of this gene regulatory network allowed the identification of novel regulatory mechanisms, specifically focusing on transcription factors and signaling pathways, potentially involved in M. arenaria and/or drought stresses response. Our results demonstrate that HIVE outperformed conventional meta-analysis approaches enabling the identification of novel and promising candidate genes potentially responsible for triggering effective defence responses to multiple stresses.