Molecular Basis of Ergosterol-Induced Protection of Grape Against Botrytis cinerea: Induction of Type I LTP Promoter Activity, WRKY, and Stilbene Synthase Gene Expression

Type I lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are basic, 9-kDa cystein-rich proteins believed to be involved in plant defense mechanisms. A 2,100-bp fragment containing the coding region of Vitis vinifera lipid transfer protein 1 (VvLTP1) and 1,420-bp of its promoter region was isolated by screening a grape...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Laurent Laquitaine, Eric Gomès, Julie François, Chloé Marchive, Stéphanie Pascal, Saïd Hamdi, Rossitza Atanassova, Serge Delrot, Pierre Coutos-Thévenot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The American Phytopathological Society 2006-10-01
Series:Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
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Online Access:https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/MPMI-19-1103
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Summary:Type I lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are basic, 9-kDa cystein-rich proteins believed to be involved in plant defense mechanisms. A 2,100-bp fragment containing the coding region of Vitis vinifera lipid transfer protein 1 (VvLTP1) and 1,420-bp of its promoter region was isolated by screening a grape genomic library. In silico analysis revealed several putative, defense-related, cis-regulatory elements such as W- and MYB-boxes, involved in the binding of WRKY and MYB transcription factors, respectively. The 5′-truncated versions of the VvLTP1 promoter were generated, cloned in front of the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene, and introduced in tobacco plants and grapevine cell suspensions using Agrobacterium spp. Single MYB- and the W-boxes identified on the 0.250-kbp fragment were sufficient to induce GUS activity in transgenic tobacco plants after transient expression of MYB and WRKY. Ergosterol, a nonspecific fungal elicitor, induced GUS activity in transgenic grapevine cell suspensions transformed with the 1,420- and 750-bp promoter containing a palindromic arrangement of two Wboxes but not the 650- or 250-bp fragment, where only one W-box was present. Moreover, ergosterol triggered WRKY, VvLTP1, and stilbene synthase gene expression in grape plantlets and enhanced protection against Botrytis cinerea. The molecular basis of ergosterol-induced protection is discussed.
ISSN:0894-0282
1943-7706