Gene Expression in Cucurbita spp. Root and Crown during Phytophthora capsici Infection

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 12; p. 2718
• Main Authors: Ayala-Doñas, Alejandro, Gómez, Pedro, de Cara-García, Miguel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10.12.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Biosynthesis; Chitinase; Crop diseases; Crops; Cucurbita moschata; Cucurbita pepo; defensin; Enzymes; Fungi; Gene expression; Genes; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Inoculation; Lignin; Pathogenesis; Pathogenesis-related proteins; Pathogens; Peroxidase; Plant resistance; Salicylic acid; squash; susceptibility; tolerance; Cucurbita pepo; squash; susceptibility; defensin; tolerance; Cucurbita moschata
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants10122718

causes major diseases in cucurbit crops worldwide. In this study, we inoculated this pathogen into subsp. susceptible MUCU-16 and tolerant M63. The gene expression of plant pathogenesis-related proteins chitinase ( ), lignin-forming peroxidase ( ), and defensin ( ) and hormone-related enzymes salicylic acid ( ) and ethylene ( ) was analyzed for two weeks post-inoculation in root and crown tissues. Differentially expressed genes were found between genotypes, tissues, days post-inoculation, and inoculated/non-inoculated samples. After inoculation, and (crown) were downregulated in MUCU-16, while and were upregulated in M63. In inoculated samples, higher expression changes were presented on days 10-14 than on day 3 for , , and genes. Overexpression was higher for compared to the other tested genes, indicating good suitability as a marker of biotic stress. The overexpression of was higher in crown than in roots for both inoculated genotypes. The basal expression of and was higher in MUCU-16, but after inoculation, and gene expression were higher in M63. These changes suggest an association between upregulation and tolerance, and between downregulation and susceptibility.