Silencing the "GP1106" Effector Gene in Globodera pallida
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by a student grant from the UI Office of Undergraduate Research and was supported by Dr. Dandurand's lab and the Pale Cyst Nematode project at the University of Idaho.
Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess whether silencing of the GP1106 effector gene in Globodera pallida (the pale cyst nematode) using RNA interference (RNAi) will impact virulence within a susceptible potato host cultivar, “Desiree”. G. pallida is a plant-parasitic cyst nematode that causes vast economic losses in potato crops. To successfully parasitize host plants, G. pallida produces effector proteins that overcome plant defenses. The specific goal of this project was to silence the GP1106 effector gene and study the subsequent result on G. pallida virulence. Research has shown GP1106 expression is lower in nematode infection assays of “Desiree” than a trap crop, “Litchi” tomato. This indicates that GP1106 might be important for G. pallida parasitism. To confirm this hypothesis, double stranded RNA (dsRNA) that targets the coding sequence of GP1106 was synthesized. Then the GP1106 gene will be silenced in second-stage G. pallida juveniles (J2s) through a dsRNA soaking method. The efficiency of silencing will be determined by quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the relative expression of the GP1106 gene. Differences in virulence between J2s that have had GP1106 silenced and wild type J2s will be determined by infection assays in “Desiree” potatoes, the infection success levels between the two treatments will be compared.
Silencing the "GP1106" Effector Gene in Globodera pallida
The objective of this study was to assess whether silencing of the GP1106 effector gene in Globodera pallida (the pale cyst nematode) using RNA interference (RNAi) will impact virulence within a susceptible potato host cultivar, “Desiree”. G. pallida is a plant-parasitic cyst nematode that causes vast economic losses in potato crops. To successfully parasitize host plants, G. pallida produces effector proteins that overcome plant defenses. The specific goal of this project was to silence the GP1106 effector gene and study the subsequent result on G. pallida virulence. Research has shown GP1106 expression is lower in nematode infection assays of “Desiree” than a trap crop, “Litchi” tomato. This indicates that GP1106 might be important for G. pallida parasitism. To confirm this hypothesis, double stranded RNA (dsRNA) that targets the coding sequence of GP1106 was synthesized. Then the GP1106 gene will be silenced in second-stage G. pallida juveniles (J2s) through a dsRNA soaking method. The efficiency of silencing will be determined by quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the relative expression of the GP1106 gene. Differences in virulence between J2s that have had GP1106 silenced and wild type J2s will be determined by infection assays in “Desiree” potatoes, the infection success levels between the two treatments will be compared.
Comments
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