Abstract

ARAUJO-BURGOS, T.  and  RAO, R. Expresión del Gen Prosistemina de Tomate En Papa (Solanum tuberosum). Rev.Cient.Agro.Amaz. [online]. 2013, vol.1, n.1, pp. 11-25. ISSN 2307-9606.

ABSTRACT Systemin, a peptide isolated from tomato, derives from the C-terminal region of the prosystemin precursor. It is a signaling molecule involved in local and systemicwound response. It regulates the activation of several defensive genes in tomato plants in response toherbivoreattacks. Prosystemin homologues have been found in other Solanaceae species such as potato, but they were less active than the tomato one. The aim of this project was to increase the understanding of the possible biotechnologicalroleofthetomatoprosystemin, with a particular emphasis to the exploitation of this precursor to increase the endogenous resistance against biotic stress. To this goal, the tomato prosystemin ADNc was expressed in potato. Moreover, a mutated prosystemin ADNc lacking the systemin encoding exon (Sys) was also expressed to understand the possible function of the N-terminal region of the precursor in the activation of the defense response. Transgenic plants were obtained after an Agrobacterium mediated plant transformation. Potato transformants were characterized and a group of genes involved in plant response against biotic stress was analyzed by real time PCR. The gene expression analysis suggested that modification in gene expression in potato is not only due to the Sys sequence and that the N-terminal is also involved.

Keywords : systemin; defense genes; transgenic potato; gene expression.