Tobacco resistance gene expression levels in response to the infection of Phytophthora nicotianae

Abstract

One of the main obstacles often encountered in efforts to increase productivity and quality of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) yields is the attack of black shank disease by the oomycetes Phytophthora nicotianae. So far, what has been done mainly by tobacco cultivators is the observation of resistance through calculating the rate of death or disease of plants due to pathogen attack, so research is needed to determine the resistance profile of local varieties of tobacco to black shank disease in molecular stage to speed up the screening process of tobacco varieties. This study aim to determine the gene expression profile related to resistance in tobacco varieties Beinhart 1000, Hick Broadleaf, and two local varieties, namely Dark 302 and Dark 314, in response to black shank disease. The research consisted of preparing tobacco and P. nicotianae inoculum, artificial inoculation, followed by semi-quantitative analysis of gene expression related to tobacco resistance, PR1, PR4, PLP2, and PUB24. Tobacco resistant variety, Beinhart 1000, expressed a relatively 285% higher PR1 significantly than the control. The length of time of infection showed that PR1, PR4, PLP2, and PUB24 genes were expressed temporally, and the dynamics of expression of each test gene affected the development of pathological conditions.