GENE EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED TO PHOSPHORUS EFFICIENCE AND ASSIMILATION IN COMMON BEAN (Phaseolus vulgaris)

• Grant number: 10/11594-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2011
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Sérgio Augusto Morais Carbonell
• Grantee: Daiana Alves da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto Agronômico (IAC). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The element phosphorus (P) is essential for plant development. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is the most important food from human consumption and is often limited by low concentration of P in soil. The genetic behavior of plants in the presence or absence of P can be evaluated by techniques that measure levels of gene expression in tissues of these plants. This study will identify, by Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR), expression profiles of four bean varieties, according to their responses to P deficiency after the reduction to a minimum concentration of P in each and three different times, compared to plants that hadn't reduced levels of P. For the gene expression study were selected 35 candidate genes identified in previous studies of stress disability by phosphorus in beans. With this, we intend to identify and understand the genetic mechanisms involved in the physiological responses observed during the reduction of available P to the plant. This work will serve as the basis for other developed by our group, for example, to identify gene expression in individuals of F6 and F7 generations that may be selected according to their gene expression profile. Another objective of this study is to use the identified genes to produce transgenic plants responsive to minimal amounts of phosphorus.