Analysis of gene expression in wheat upon treatment with a novel plant activator

[摘要] English: Plant activators are an exciting alternative to modern day plant pathogen controlprocedures. Yet research on plant activators and the mechanisms involved intheir action remains limited. The plant activator used during this study, SS, is apurified fraction from the commercial product ComCat® with known positiveeffects in field trials. The main aims of the study was to confirm the action of SSon a molecular level in wheat, identify genes involved in the process andexamine the possible mode of action of the activator.Leaf rust resistant Thatcher+Lr34 and susceptible Thatcher wheat cultivars weretreated with SS and water. SSH was performed on pooled Thatcher+Lr34 RNAresulting in 562 putatively induced cDNA clones. Of these, 51 were sequenced.The sequenced clones shared homology with a variety of genes mostly encodingphotosynthetic and metabolic products, as well as one plant defence relatedgene encoding Ptr ToxA binding protein1. Expression analysis confirmed acharacteristic two step induction pattern in Thatcher+Lr34 confirming the inducedgene expressionIt was concluded that SS application in wheat increases photosynthetic andmetabolic capacity on a molecular level thereby confirming field results. Theinduction of expression of TaThf1 (Ptr ToxA Binding protein1) by SS suggested apossible unique role in plant defence against pathogens.

[发布机构] University of the Free State