IHsp90/I Gene Is Required for IMi-1/I-Mediated Resistance of Tomato to the Whitefly IBemisia tabaci/I

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 3
• Main Authors: Pascual, Susana, Rodríguez-Álvarez, Clara I, Kaloshian, Isgouhi, Nombela, Gloria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 01.02.2023
• Subjects: Aleyrodidae; Aphididae; Botanical research; Control; Diseases and pests; Gene expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic engineering; Heat shock proteins; Identification and classification; Nematoda; Plant immunology; Proteins; Tomatoes; Spain
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12030641

The Mi-1 gene of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) confers resistance against some nematodes and insects, but the resistance mechanisms differ depending on the harmful organism, as a hypersensitive reaction (HR) occurs only in the case of nematodes. The gene Rme1 is required for Mi-1-mediated resistance to nematodes, aphids, and whiteflies, and several additional proteins also play a role in this resistance. Among them, the involvement of the chaperone HSP90 has been demonstrated in Mi-1-mediated resistance for aphids and nematodes, but not for whiteflies. In this work, we studied the implication of the Hsp90 gene in the Mi-1 resistance against the whitefly Bemisia tabaci by means of Tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). The silencing of the Hsp90 gene in tomato Motelle plants carrying the Mi-1 gene resulted in a decrease in resistance to whiteflies, as oviposition values were significantly higher than those on non-silenced plants. This decrease in resistance was equivalent to that caused by the silencing of the Mi-1 gene itself. Infiltration with the control TRV vector did not alter Mi-1 mediated resistance to B. tabaci. Similar to the Mi-1 gene, silencing of Hsp90-1 occurs partially, as silenced plants showed a significant but not complete suppression of gene expression. Thus, our results demonstrate the requirement of Hsp90 in the Mi-1-mediated resistance to B. tabaci and reinforce the hypothesis of a common model for this resistance to nematodes and insects.