STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF STARVATION ON GENES EXPRESSION IN PYRENOCHAETA LYCOPERSICI

The pathogenicity of fungal pathogens is presumably dependent on genes that are expressed during infection; in order to test the hypothesis that starvation may mimic the condition of the initial stage of pathogenesis of Pyrenochaeta lycopersici on tomato and to better understand the mechanisms underlying the plant-pathogen interaction, an analysis with specific primer on cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE) was made on the cDNA from starved and repleted fungal mycelia.
Moreover, a cDNA library of differential expressed genes was created by means of a Rapid Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (RASH). Different expressions of genes were compared in the fungus growth on three different media: complete of nutrient, with low presence of nitrogen and with low presence of carbon.
First results show a different pattern of expression of the polygalatturonase gene in the three different conditions of growth.
Each amplified fragment could represent different molecular forms of the enzyme.
Moreover, a differential expressed fragment was found in conditions of carbon starvation.
The identity of the fragment was indicated by partial DNA sequencing as diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase.
These results suggest that the low presence of carbon and nitrogen mimics the growth conditions of P. lycopersici in tomato plants but further analysis is necessary to have information about the protein involved in the signal of pathogenesis.

III International Symposium on Tomato Diseases

R. Caiazzo , E. Lahoz, A. Infantino, A. Crescenzi

poligalatturonase, cell wall degrading enzymes, RASH, plant-pathogen interaction, PCR

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.914.78