Rhodococcus fascians, a plant pathogenic actinomycete with a very broad host range, causes leafy galls and other malformations. The plant hormone, group, the cytokinins has been implicated in the alteration of host morphology. The aim of this project was to gain insight into the interaction of the cytokinin biosynthetic, isopentenyltransferase (IPT), cytokinin activating ( LOG (The Lonely Guy)) and the cytokinin metabolic, cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) gene families of both Pisum sativum and R. fascians during infection of the plant.
R. fascians colonisation and infection of pea were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy. The expression of genes related to cytokinin biosynthesis, activation and metabolism were isolated and assessed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real time-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis. Primers were designed to discriminate between pea genes and R. fascians genes. In addition, the response of the pea cotyledons to R. fascians was measured through chlorophyll estimation and the expression of the transporter genes, sucrose transporter (SUT) and amino acid permease (AAP) which were assayed through RT-qPCR. The pea response regulators were monitored as an indirect measure of the level of endogenous cytokinins in pea.
Two R. fascians strains, the avirulent strain 589 and the virulent strain 602, were selected for this project based on their virulence and similar growth rate under identical conditions. The virulence of R. fascians virulent strain 602 was also confirmed through Koch's postulates. The phenotypic alterations in the pea infected with the virulent strain 602 included stunted growth, multiple shoots, small leaves, thickened primary roots and reduced secondary root growth. Delayed senescence of shoots and dark green, intact cotyledons were also observed. Microscopic analyses revealed epiphytic colonisation by both the avirulent strain 589 and the virulent strain 602 in pea cotyledons, roots, shoots and leaves and endophytic colonisation in the seed coat from the time of seed inoculation to 45 days post inoculation (dpi).
The expression of R. fascians genes was relatively high at 5 and 9 dpi in pea cotyledons and at 15 and 25 dpi in roots and shoots of pea infected with the virulent strain 602. The expression of RfIPT, RfLOG and RfCKX was not detected both in the control pea and the pea infected with the avirulent strain 589.
The cytokinin biosynthesis, metabolism and response regulator (RR) multi-gene families of PsIPTs, PsLOGs, PsCKXs and PsRRs revealed differential and tissue-specific expression patterns. The expression of PsIPTs and PsLOGs was induced immediately after inoculation with the R. fascians virulent strain 602 in the cotyledon but not in roots and shoots, and the expression level reduced at later growth stages. The PsCKXs and PsRRs expression level increased with the growth of the host infected with the virulent strain 602. In pea infected with the avirulent strain 589 the expression of PsIPTs, PsLOGs and PsCKXs gene family members generally increased after 25 dpi in cotyledons, roots and shoots, whereas PsRRs expression was low at all time points.
The up-regulation of PsIPTs and PsLOGs immediately after inoculation in cotyledons and at 15 dpi in roots and shoots by R. fascians virulent strain leads to elevated cytokinins which is reflected by the up-regulation of PsRRs. The plant responds to elevated cytokinin by producing phenotypic changes including shoot malformations. The plant activates its cytokinin homeostasis mechanism due to change in cytokinin level which is indicated by up-regulation of PsCKXs. Generally, the expression of the PsRRs was also up-regulated over time following infection by the R. fascians virulent strain. This indicates the presence of biologically active cytokinins in the host which maintain the symptoms. The outcome due to the avirulent strains indicates that, even though PsIPTs and PsLOGs are up-regulated at later growth stages (25 to 35 dpi), expression of PsCKX gene families were varied (either up-regulated or down regulated after 25 dpi). However, PsRRs expression was down-regulated suggesting low cytokinins levels in tissues which may be due to the activation of homeostatic mechanisms of the plant to reduce the level of biologically active cytokinins.
The chlorophyll content increased in cotyledons infected with the virulent strain 602 and PsSUTs and PsAAPs expression pattern in pea cotyledon and shoot infected with the virulent strain 602 indicates that R. fascians converts the infected tissue into a sink for their establishment and growth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/9281 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Dhandapani, Pragathi Dhandapani |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Biological Sciences |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Pragathi Dhandapani Dhandapani, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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