Relationship of potato biochemical responses to ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’, causal agent of zebra chip, to disease progression
C. M. WALLIS (1), A. Rashed (2), A. K. Wallingford (1), C. M. Rush (2). (1) USDA ARS, Parlier, CA, U.S.A.; (2) Texas AgriLife Research, Amarillo, TX, U.S.A.
Zebra chip disease is an emerging threat to potato production in the United States and elsewhere. Knowledge of how potato hosts respond to the causal agent, ‘<i>Candidatus</i> Liberibacter solanacearum’ (CLS), will aid with efforts to breed potatoes more tolerant to infections by this bacterium. To this end, multiple aspects of potato physiological responses to CLS were examined. Changes in host biochemistry over the course of infection, responses of different cultivars of potatoes to CLS, and differences in biochemical responses in tubers versus shoots and leaves were assessed. Host biochemical responses to CLS were consistently observed to be positively associated with zebra chip symptom severity. That is, CLS-infection resulted in greater levels of phenolic compounds, reducing sugars, and certain amino acids, which were associated with greater symptom progression over time. Therefore, one target for breeding programs should be to develop potato cultivars that do not respond to infection by major shifts in host biochemistry. These cultivars are expected to be less symptomatic than cultivars currently used in commercial production.
View Presentation |
