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Title: SUGAR BEET ROOT MAGGOT (TETANOPS MYOPAEFORMIS) AS A MODEL SYSTEM FOR ELUCIDATING DISEASE AND PEST RESISTANCE MECHANISMS IN ROOTS

Author
item Smigocki, Anna
item IVIC-HAYMES, SNEZANA - TOWSON UNIVERSITY
item Puthoff, David

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Potomac Division Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2005
Publication Date: 8/15/2005
Citation: Smigocki, A.C., Ivic-Haymes, S., Puthoff, D.P. 2005. Sugar beet root maggot (tetanops myopaeformis) as a model system for elucidating disease and pest resistance mechanisms in roots. American Phytopathological Society Potomac Division Meeting. p.33.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The sugar beet root maggot (SBRM, Tetanops myopaeformis Röder) is the most devastating insect pest in U.S. sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) production. An in vitro system was established to study the interactions between sugar beet roots and SBRM. Sources of root material included 17-day-old seedlings, greenhouse plants and hairy root cultures of susceptible (F1010) and moderately resistant (F1016) germplasm. SBRM larvae fed and aggregated on F1010 roots and hypocotyls whereas on F1016 the larvae wandered away from these tissues. Damage inflicted by the larvae on F1010 roots included rasping marks, holes in the tissues and severed roots and was analogous to damage reported in SBRM-infested fields. We collected infested F1010 and F1016 root and hypocotyl tissues at 24 and 48 h to identify genes that are regulated by SBRM feeding. The Suppressive Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) method was used to compare not only infested and uninfested plants of the same genotype, but also the two genotypes in order to identify genes up-regulated in one genotype while down-regulated in the other. Over 1000 cDNA clones were isolated and approximately half of them have been confirmed to be differentially expressed in response to SBRM infestation. Further characterization is ongoing and includes DNA sequence determination, full length cDNA cloning and expression profiling following various plant stresses. Function of genes with potential roles in defense responses will be evaluated using sugar beet hairy root cultures and selected genes will be introduced into sugar beet breeding lines. Candidate genes identified from all or any of the subtractions will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of infestation, resistance and susceptibility.