A fragment of a 70-kDa Heterodera glycines heat shock protein (HgHSP70) interacts with soybean cyst nematode-resistant GmSHMT08

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) Heterodera glycines is considered as the major constraint to soybean production. GmSHMT08 at Rhg4 locus on chromosome 08, encoding a serine hydroxylmethyltransferase, is a major gene underlying resistance against H. glycines in Peking-type soybeans. However, the molecular mechanism underpinning this resistance is less well characterized, and whether GmSHMT08 could interact with proteins in H. glycines remains unclear. In this study, yeast two-hybrid screening was conducted using GmSHMT08 as a bait protein, and a fragment of a 70-kDa heat shock protein (HgHSP70) was screened from H. glycines that exhibited interaction with GmSHMT08. This interaction was verified by both GST pull-down and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. Our finding reveals HgHSP70 could be applied as a potential candidate gene for further exploring the mechanism on GmSHMT08-mediated resistance against SCN H. glycines.