Characterization of PAMP-activated RLK genes in Solanum tuberosum
L. NIETZSCHMANN (1), S. Rosahl (1) (1) Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry, Germany

The hemibiotrophic oomycete Phytophthora infestans is the causal agent of late blight disease. Treatment of the susceptible potato cultivar Désirée with the PAMP Pep-13 leads to strong local defense responses and enhanced resistance against Phytophthora infestans. A candidate gene approach was performed to identify mechanisms involved in PAMP-induced defense responses. Microarray data revealed more than 700 activated genes in potato plants treated with Pep-13 . Two genes encoding putative receptors are being analyzed in more detail. One of these genes encodes a receptor-like kinase (StRLK) with 18 leucine-rich repeats. The gene expression is induced 1 hour after infiltration of Pep-13 and 15 minutes after P. infestans infection.The second gene codes for another receptor-like kinase StBAK1 with five leucine-rich repeats. To elucidate the relevance of these genes during defense responses, it will be determined if down regulating the expression of StRLK or StBAK1 causes an alteration in the response to Pep-13 treatment or P. infestans infection.

Abstract Number: P17-579
Session Type: Poster