Isozyme gene expression in potato tumors incited by Agrobacterium.

Two plant tumors (crown galls and hairy roots) were experimentally provoked on potato cv. 'Désirée' by oncogenic strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes. A marked shift in the expression of some organ-specific genes occurred in crown galls derived from the central zone of tubers: two novel isozyme genes (Est-B and Pox-E) were expressed, two others (Est-C and Pox-F) were suppressed and the remaining ones were maintained in the original state. When the starting tissue was the stem segment, a smaller shift occurred, namely the activation of Adh-A and the suppression of Pox-F. In all cases, the isozyme profiles characterizing all crown galls, whatever their origin, were identical. Under normal aeration conditions, Adh-A was not expressed in either tumoral or non-tumoral roots. However, under the relative anaerobic conditions of in vitro cultures, a difference existed between both types of roots: Adh-A was expressed in normal but not in tumoral roots. This means that hairy roots can tolerate higher levels of anaerobiosis without giving rise to an anaerobic response. For the remaining isozymes, no alteration occurred in either organized (hairy root) or unorganized (crown gall) tumors, as compared to the corresponding non-tumoral tissues (normal root and callus, respectively).