We tested the role of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in altering the tomato plant's defense against herbivory by tobacco hornworm. Treatments of SA or JA were topically applied to tomato plants, hornworm consumption was allowed to proceed for 12 days, and harvest analyses were performed. Measurements taken included a subjective plant rating (1-10 score), plant dry mass, caterpillar ...

Crosstalk between phytohormone pathways is essential in plant growth, development and stress responses. Brassinosteroids (BRs) and ethylene are both pivotal plant growth regulators, and the interaction between these two phytohormones in the tomato response to salt stress is still unclear. Here, we explored the mechanism by which BRs affect ethylene biosynthesis and signaling in tomato seedlings...

Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) locate host plants by following concentration gradients of root exudate chemicals in the soil. We present a simple method for RNA interference (RNAi)-induced knockdown of genes in tomato seedling roots, facilitating the study of root exudate composition, and PPN responses. Knockdown of sugar transporter genes, STP1 and STP2, in tomato seedlings triggered correspo...

The tomato vascular wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici produces an array of pectinolytic enzymes that may contribute to penetration and colonization of the host plant. Here we report the isolation of pg5, encoding a novel extracellular endopolygalacturonase (endoPG) that is highly conserved among different formae speciales of F. oxysporum. The putative mature pg5 product has a ...

Development of the flattened laminar structure in plant leaves requires highly regulated cell division and expansion patterns. Although tight regulation of these processes is essential during leaf development, leaf shape is highly diverse across the plant kingdom, implying that patterning of growth must be amenable to evolutionary change. Here, we describe the molecular identification of the cl...

root-knot nematodes (meloidogyne spp.) are among the most important groups of plant-parasitic nematodes, causing damage and yield losses to most cultivated plants. the bacterium pseudomonas fluorescens cha0 and the fungus trichoderma harzianum bi were investigated for biological control capability and systemic induction of resistance against the nematode m. javanica under glasshouse conditions....

The plant expression vector pBRSAg was constructed as suitable for transformation via Agrobacteriummediated approach. It contains all elements for plant expression, such as CaMV 35S promoter, both left and right border sequence for transferred DNA (T-DNA) in Agrobacterium, plant reporter gene gus, and plant selection marker gene hpt. The recombinant binary vector pBRSAg was transformed into Agr...

Bacterial wilt of tomatoes caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a devastating disease that limits the production of tomato in Korea. The best way to control this disease is using genetically resistant tomato plant. The resistance degree to R. solanacearum was evaluated for 285 tomato accessions conserved in the National Agrobiodiversity Center of Rural Development Administration. These accession...

Establishment of a plant-pathogen interaction involves differential gene expression in both organisms. In order to isolate Botrytis cinerea genes whose expression is induced during its interaction with tomato, a comparative analysis of the expression pattern of the fungus in planta with its expression pattern during in vitro culture was performed by differential display of mRNA (DDRT-PCR). Disc...

Wilt is an important disease of tomato crop causing significant reduction in yield. In present study, the pathogenic fungus was isolated from infected plant and identified based on morphological and cultural characters as Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.lycopersici whose pathogenicity was confirmed by Koch’s postulate on tomato seedling. In vitro evaluation of extracts of 20 plant species was done by p...