EST sequencing and gene expression profiling of defence-related genes from Persea americana infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi

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dc.contributor.author Mahomed, Waheed
dc.contributor.author Van den Berg, Noelani
dc.date.accessioned 2012-01-31T06:26:51Z
dc.date.available 2012-01-31T06:26:51Z
dc.date.issued 2011-11-23
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND: Avocado (Persea americana) belongs to the Lauraceae family and is an important commercial fruit crop in over 50 countries. The most serious pathogen affecting avocado production is Phytophthora cinnamomi which causes Phytophthora root rot (PRR). Root pathogens such as P. cinnamomi and their interactions with hosts are poorly understood and despite the importance of both the avocado crop and the effect Phytophthora has on its cultivation, there is a lack of molecular knowledge underpinning our understanding of defence strategies against the pathogen. In order to initiate a better understanding of host-specific defence we have generated EST data using 454 pyrosequencing and profiled nine defence-related genes from Pc-infected avocado roots. RESULTS: 2.0 Mb of data was generated consisting of ~10,000 reads on a single lane of the GS FLX platform. Using the Newbler assembler 371 contigs were assembled, of which 367 are novel for Persea americana. Genes were classified according to Gene Ontology terms. In addition to identifying root-specific ESTs we were also able to identify and quantify the expression of nine defence-related genes that were differentially regulated in response to P. cinnamomi. Genes such as metallothionein, thaumatin and the pathogenesis related PsemI, mlo and profilin were found to be differentially regulated. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in elucidating the avocado root transcriptome as well as identifying defence responses of avocado roots to the root pathogen P. cinnamomi. Our data is currently the only EST data that has been generated for avocado rootstocks, and the ESTs identified in this study have already been useful in identifying defence-related genes as well as providing gene information for other studies looking at processes such as ROS regulation as well as hypoxia in avocado roots. Our EST data will aid in the elucidation of the avocado transcriptome and identification of markers for improved rootstock breeding and screening. The characterization of the avocado transcriptome will furthermore form a basis for functional genomics of basal angiosperms. en
dc.description.librarian nf2012 en
dc.description.sponsorship This work was financially supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Hans Merensky Foundation. en_US
dc.description.uri http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/11/167 en_US
dc.identifier.citation Mahomed and van den Berg: EST sequencing and gene expression profiling of defence-related genes from Persea americana infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi. BMC Plant Biology 2011 11:167. en
dc.identifier.issn 1471-2229 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1471-2229 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1186/1471-2229-11-167
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/17944
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher BioMed Central en_US
dc.rights © 2011 Mahomed and van den Berg; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License en
dc.subject EST sequencing en
dc.subject Persea americana en
dc.subject.lcsh Avocado -- Diseases and pests en
dc.subject.lcsh Phytophthora cinnamomi diseases en
dc.subject.lcsh Gene expression en
dc.subject.lcsh Pathogenic microorganisms en
dc.subject.lcsh Plant diseases -- Genetic aspects en
dc.title EST sequencing and gene expression profiling of defence-related genes from Persea americana infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi en
dc.type Article en


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