ARS | Publication request: Expression of a Wheat Gene Encoding a Type-1 Lipid Transfer Protein is Suppressed by Virulent Hessian Fly Larval Feeding

Submitted to: Plant and Animal Genome Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 15, 2006
Publication Date: January 3, 2007
Citation: Saltzmann, K.D., Giovanini, M.P., Ohm, H.W., Williams, C.E. 2007. Expression of a Wheat Gene Encoding a Type-1 Lipid Transfer Protein is Suppressed by Virulent Hessian Fly Larval Feeding. [abstract] Plant and Animal Genome Conference Proceedings, San Diego, CA, Jan. 13-17, 2007.

Technical Abstract: The response of wheat to attack by the Hessian fly is mediated by a gene-for-gene recognition involving wheat R genes and Hessian fly avr genes. Interactions are characterized as compatible when virulent Hessian fly larvae establish feeding sites and survive on wheat plants and incompatible when avirulent larvae fail to establish feeding sites and die. We report the cloning of Hfr-LTP, a Hessian fly-responsive wheat gene encoding a putative type-1 non-specific lipid transfer protein. A cDNA clone corresponding to the Hfr-LTP gene contains a 363 bp open reading frame and encodes a deduced protein of 120 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR experiments demonstrated that Hfr-LTP mRNA levels were lower in the compatible interaction compared with incompatible and uninfested control plants. Western blot experiments showed that the putative HFR-LTP is also less abundant in the compatible interaction. Virulent Hessian fly larvae induce host plants to form nutritive tissue that serves as a nutrient sink and supports rapid larval growth. We propose that HFR-LTP is involved in wheat cell membrane maintenance and that suppression of HFR-LTP during compatible interactions may promote survival of virulent larvae by interfering with the plant’s ability to strengthen and repair membranes. A reduction in HFR-LTP may be part of the mechanism by which larvae subvert the physiology of the plant to generate the observed cell wall thinning and lysis involved in delivery of nutrients to virulent larvae.