Molecular Genetics and Genomics

, Volume 270, Issue 6, pp 549–557 | Cite as

Genes expressed in zoospores of Phytophthora nicotianae

Original Paper
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Abstract

The genus Phytophthora includes many highly destructive plant pathogens. In many Phytophthora species, pathogen dispersal and initiation of plant infection are achieved by motile, biflagellate zoospores that are chemotactically attracted to suitable infection sites. In order to study gene expression in zoospores, we have constructed a cDNA library using mRNA from zoospores of Phytophthora nicotianae. The library was arrayed and screened using probes derived from mycelium or zoospore mRNA. More than 400 clones representing genes preferentially expressed in zoospores were identified and sequenced from the 5′ end of the insert. The expressed sequence tags (ESTs) generated were found to represent 240 genes. The ESTs were compared to sequences in GenBank and in the Phytophthora Genome Consortium database, and classified according to putative function based on homology to known proteins. To further characterize the identified genes, a colony array was created on replicate nylon filters and screened with probes derived from four Phytophthora developmental stages including zoospores, germinating cysts, vegetative mycelium and sporulating hyphae, and from inoculated and uninoculated tobacco seedlings. Data from sequence analysis and colony array screening were compiled into a local database, and searched to identify genes that are preferentially expressed in zoospores for future functional analysis.

Keywords

Gene expression Oomycetes Plant-pathogen interactions  Phytophthora Zoospores 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank Anne Mackenzie and Val Maclean for excellent technical help and Jerry Marshall for conceptual initiation of the project. This work was supported in part by a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postdoctoral fellowship to D. Š.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2004

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Plant Protection and Plant Cell Biology Group, Research School of Biological SciencesAustralian National UniversityCanberraAustralia

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