INDUCTION OF A MEMBRANE INTRINSIC PROTEIN-ENCODING MESSENGER-RNA IN ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZA AND ELICITOR-STIMULATED CELL-SUSPENSION CULTURES OF PARSLEY

Expression of a gene coding for a membrane intrinsic protein (MIP) has been detected during plant-fungal interactions in parsley. A full len gth cDNA sequence was obtained by RACE of an RT-PCR fragment amplified from parsley arbuscular mycorrhiza poly(A)+ RNA, using primers corres ponding to conserved regions of plant MIPs. The deduced peptide, named PcRB7, showed high similarity to proteins of the MIP family, the grea test being to TobRB7 from tobacco. pcrb7 mRNA accumulated in parsley r oots colonised by the symbiotic mycorrhizal fungus Glomus fasciculatum and in suspension-cultured cells following treatment with an elicitor from the phytopathogenic fungus, Phytophthora sojae. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science Ireland Ltd.