Abstract
Bacterial wilt is caused by a soil borne pathogen, Ralsotonia solanacearum, damaging the production of major crops such as potato, tomato, and eggplant. The infection occurs mainly at roots via wounds or secondary roots. In early stages of infection, the pathogens multiply in the vascular element and produce extracellular polysaccharides clogging their vascular system. The pathogenicity and molecular mechanisms of the infection of R. solanacearum have been well studied through molecular genetic approaches and the genome sequencing project, while information about plant responses during the infection or development of disease resistance is very limited. Here, we report genome-wide gene expression analyses performed with tobacco plants during the infection of either an incompatible- or a compatible-strain of R. solanacearum, using DNA array filter sets with 12,158 non-redundant tomato EST sequences. Changes in the metabolic profiles through transcriptome regulations are discussed as an integrated disease resistance response in plants.
