Effects of Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid on Tomato Gene Expression

Experiment description: Data sets (H0247-248; H0272-274) compare the effect of PSTVd infection on gene expression in two normal stature cultivars; i.e., Rutgers and Moneymaker. Transgenic Moneymaker line (IR11-14) expresses small PSTVd RNAs in the absence of viroid replication. One goal of this project is to evaluate the possible role of RNA silencing in viroid pathogenicity.

Gibberellin- and brassinosteroid-mediated signaling play important roles in modulating potato spindle tuber viroid pathogenicity in normal stature cultivars like Moneymaker or Rutgers. The rate-limiting step of brassinosteroid biosynthesis is completely blocked in the dwarf cultivar MicroTom, and GA signaling is also abnormal. Data sets (H0297-H0300) compare the effects of PSTVd infection on MicroTom gene expression in the presence and absence of exogenous epi-brassinolide.

Author: Robert A. Owens

Contact: Robert A. Owens ([email protected]), USDA-Agricultural Research Services