INDUCTION-PATTERNS OF AN EXTENSIN GENE IN TOBACCO UPON NEMATODE INFECTION

Citation
A. Niebel et al., INDUCTION-PATTERNS OF AN EXTENSIN GENE IN TOBACCO UPON NEMATODE INFECTION, The Plant cell, 5(12), 1993, pp. 1697-1710
Citations number
42
Categorie Soggetti
Biology,"Plant Sciences
Journal title
ISSN journal
10404651
Volume
5
Issue
12
Year of publication
1993
Pages
1697 - 1710
Database
ISI
SICI code
1040-4651(1993)5:12<1697:IOAEGI>2.0.ZU;2-7
Abstract
When sedentary endoparasitic nematodes infect plants, they induce comp lex feeding sites within the root tissues of their host. To characteri ze cell wall changes induced within these structures at a molecular le vel, we Studied the expression of an extensin gene (coding for a major structural cell wall protein) in nematode-infected tobacco roots. Ext ensin gene expression was observed to be induced very early upon infec tion. This induction was weak, transient, and probably due to wounding during penetration and migration of the tobacco cyst nematode Globode ra tabacum ssp solanacea rum. In contrast, high extensin gene expressi on was observed during the whole second larval stage (an similar to 2- week-long phase of establishment of the feeding site) of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. During later stages of this interactio n, expression gradually decreased. Extensin gene expression was found in at least three different tissues of the gall. We propose that disti nct mechanisms lead to induced expression in these different cell type s. The significance of these results for the understanding of plant-ne matode interactions as well as the function of structural cell wall pr oteins, such as extensin, is discussed.