Bemisia tabaci-infested tomato plants show a phase-specific pattern of photosynthetic gene expression indicative of disrupted electron flow leading to photo-oxidation and plant death.

ABSTRACT: A suppression-subtractive-hybridization (SSH) strategy led to the identification of several genes whose expression was differentially modified in response to different larval phases present during the infestation process of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) by virus-free whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Bt). The findings regarding photosynthetic gene expression were in accordance to previous studies reporting altered patterns of expression as a result of insect herbivory. However, the examination, in this study, of four stages of larval Bt development permitted the detection of phase-dependent changes in gene expression which appeared to target specific photosynthetic complexes. Thus, an upregulation of photosystem II genes in the latter two phases of Bt development contrasted with a general re

SUBMITTER: Delano-Frier JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2801371 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature