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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sugarbeet and Potato Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307200
Title: Wound-induced suberization genes are differentially expressed during closing layer and wound periderm formation

Author
item Lulai, Edward
item Neubauer, Jonathan

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2013
Publication Date: 1/6/2014
Citation: Lulai, E.C., Neubauer, J. 2014. Wound-induced suberization genes are differentially expressed during closing layer and wound periderm formation [abstract.] American Journal of Potato Research. 91(1):54.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tuber wounds incurred at harvest and upon seed cutting require rapid suberization as a major part of the healing process to prevent infection and desiccation. The first stage of this healing process is referred to as closing layer development and is followed by the second stage, wound periderm development. Although both stages critically involve suberization , they differ in that closing layer development requires rapid suberization of existing parenchyma cells bordering the wound surface to provide the initial protective barrier for the wound; whereas wound periderm development requires phellogen-mediated formation of highly organized files containing several layers of suberized wound-phellem cells that provide a more durable protective barrier for the tuber. The processes delineating these two important stages of wound-induced suberization are poorly understood. This research shows that certain genes specifically involved in these processes do not remain uniformly up-regulated during the two stages of healing. Instead, they are up-regulated during closing layer formation, i.e. starting by 1 day after wounding but then slightly down-regulated near completion of the closing layer (ca.5-6 days) and then again up-regulated as wound periderm development is fully initiated (ca. 7 days). This differential expression profile was not anticipated and had not been demonstrated previously, but was repeated herein using minitubers from two different crop years. These results demonstrate that these processes are separate, but coupled in some yet to be determined fashion. The biology of this differential expression is important because of the roles closing layer and wound periderm development play in protecting the tuber from disease and other challenges.