Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Javier Alvarez
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia |
| Defense date: | 2013-07-06 |
| Examining board members: |
Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira;
Paulo José Samenho Moran;
Jörg Kobarg;
Marcos Silveira Buckeridge;
Lazaro Eustáquio Pereira Peres
|
| Advisor: | Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães Pereira |
| Abstract | |
The witches' broom disease in Cacao is caused by the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa has been one of the most important problems phytopathological in the southern hemisphere. The fungus has an unusual long biotrophic phase with the lifestyle hemibiotrofic suggesting that M. perniciosa must have important evasion mechanisms for breaking of the plant defense system and it would have a key role to success in the infection. Therefore, the aim of this work is to understand some of the mechanisms involved in the suppression of basal defense response of the plant. Specifically, hormones-mediated mechanisms that could influence plant susceptibility to pathogens during the infection of M. perniciosa. For this purpose, RNAseq libraries were constructed of the interaction cacao - M. perniciosa during the asymptomatic phase of the disease. Genes related with the auxin and jasmonic acid signaling and ethylene production were differential expressed during the initial stage of the disease. Furthermore, auxin-responsive genes were induced, but not observed induction of plant biosynthesis genes for this hormone. These data suggest presence of auxin "exogenous" probably produced by the pathogen. In order to identify whether M. perniciosa was able to secrete a compound like an auxin, Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings were grown in mediums with supernatant of the fungus. These experiments showed alterations on the roots morphology, similar to the addition of exogenous auxin. Samples of supernatants were subjected to the techniques of NMR, LC-MS/MS and GCMS and showed the presence of a compound with a similar structure of Indole-3- Acetic Acid (IAA) being produced by the fungus. A time course of the production of this compound was examinated by LC-MS/MS and showed that the auxin is produced by M. perniciosa, but is rapidly metabolized forming different indole derivatives, some of them with a probable role in the pathogenesis. Finally, we found a new compound with a structure similar to auxin and with the ability to induce gene response to this hormone (AU) | |