Molecular study of the effect of exogenous phytohormones application in “stolbur” phytoplasma infected tomatoes on disease development Ahmad Jam Nazeer1,*, Renaudin Joël2, Eveillard Sandrine2 1Integrated Genomic, Cellular, Developmental and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan 2UMR 1332 Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie CS20032, INRA, Villenave d'Ornon Cedex, France *Corresponding author e-mail: Jam Nazeer Ahmad (jamnazire@yahoo.com)
Online published on 2 January, 2015. Abstract ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ alters developmental processes in tomato and cause malformations of both vegetative and reproductive organs. The study was performed to determine the effect of application of phytohormones on “stolbur” strain PO infected tomato and to assess whether application of BTH, an analogue of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylen (Et) could protect tomato against the “stolbur” disease development. Expression of SA- and JA-dependent marker genes was also studied in tomato by qRT-PCR. Results indicated that the SA-mediated defence response delay the “stolbur” phytoplasma strain PO multiplication in contrast to the JA and Et-dependent defence pathways. Top Keywords qRT-PCR, “stolbur” phytoplasma, phytohormones, marker genes, defense pathways. Top |