Extensin and Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase Gene Expression Altered in Potato Tubers in Response to Wounding, Hypoxia, and Erwinia carotovora Infection.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers are susceptible to infection by Erwinia carotovora, causal agent of bacterial soft rot, when wounded and subjected to wet, hypoxic environments. The expression of two putative plant defense genes, extensin and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), was examined by monitoring their respective mRNA levels and cell wall hydroxyproline levels in tuber tissues under various conditions leading to susceptibility or resistance and after inoculation with E. carotovora in order to assess the possible roles of these genes and their products in this plant-pathogen interaction. Extensin and PAL mRNA levels as well as cell wall hydroxyproline levels accumulated markedly in response to wounding and subsequent aerobic incubation. Extensin and PAL mRNA levels as well as cell wall hydroxyproline levels decreased in response to wounding and subsequent anaerobic incubation; these changes were correlated with high susceptibility of tuber tissue to E. carotovora infection. Inoculation of wound sites with E. carotovora caused some additional accumulation of the wound-regulated extensin and PAL mRNAs under certain aerobic conditions, but never under anaerobic conditions.