Budapest, Hungary, 2012 19th EUCARPIA GENERAL CONGRESS
TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF A POWDERY MILDEW INDUCIBLE GENE IN GRAPEVINE
ZSÓFIA TÓTH1 – PATRICK WINTERHAGEN2 – ZOLTAN SZABÓ3 – ALYSSA HIGGINS4 – ANTAL SZŐKE1 – ERZSÉBET KISS1 – LASZLO KOVACS5
1Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Szent Istvan University, Pater Károly u. 1., Gödöllö 2100, Hungary, e-mail: Kiss.Erzsebet@mkk.szie.hu.
2Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, 25 Emil Wolff Street, Stuttgart 70599, Genrmany, e- mail: P.Winterhagen@uni-hohenheim.de.
3Agricultural Biotechnology Center, Szent-Györgyi Albert u. 4., Gödöllő, 2100, Hungary, e-mail:
szabo.zoltan@abc.hu.
4Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211, USA, e-mail:
plantgroup@missouri.edu.
5Department of Biology, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 901 S. National Avenue, Springfield MO 65897, USA, e-mail: Laszlo.Kovacs@missouristate.edu.
Obligate biotrophic pathogens, such as powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator, PM) generate a defence response in susceptible grapevines, including most Vitis vinifera varieties. In 2007, a group observed that PM infection increased salicylic acid (SA) levels in grape (V. vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) leaves, which suggested that SA was part of the PM defence pathway. In the same year, around 3,000 V. vinifera genes were tested for reaction to PM and SA using microarray. Most of the genes responded to PM in the same way as to SA treatment, but some genes responded only to PM, and not to SA. Among these genes were stilbene synthase genes and a member of the NAC transcription factor gene family (VvNAC). The results of the experiment were also confirmed by quantitative PCR. The results suggested that SA was not required, or required but was insufficient in itself to regulate the expression of these genes. This study focused on the promoter regulation of VvNAC gene. The promoter was isolated, fused to a reporter gene and transferred into SA signal transduction-defective Arabidopsis thaliana plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. PM-induced gene expression in transgenic plants should indicate if the regulation of the VvNAC gene promoter is independent or dependent on SA signal transduction. To identify the responsible regulatory elements, deletion variants were constructed of the promoter and fused to reporter genes. A better understanding of plant-pathogen interactions will enable scientists to engineer PM-resistance in susceptible grape cultivars.
Research was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA 77867) and TÁMOP-4.2.2.B-10/1 project („Development of a complex educational assistance system for talented students and prospective researchers at the Szent István University”).
