ARS | Publication request: TOMATO IRREGULAR RIPENING DISORDER: DECIPHERING CHANGES IN PLANT PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO WHITEFLY FEEDING USING TRANSCRIPT PROFILING

Submitted to: National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 2004
Publication Date: November 10, 2004
Citation: Mckenzie, C.L., Sinisterra, X.H., Powell, C.A., Bausher, M.G., Albano, J.P., Shatters, R.G. 2004. Tomato irregular ripening disorder: deciphering changes in plant physiological response to whitefly feeding using transcript profiling. National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting.

Technical Abstract: Tomato irregular ripening (TIR) disorder has been associated with silverleaf whitefly (SLW)(Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) feeding. Symptoms of this physiological disorder do not appear on tomato foliage where whitefly feed, but appear as an uneven fruit color development. Plants infested with SLW can develop fruit with external longitudinal white or yellow streaks resulting in unmarketable fruit. TIR internal symptoms consist of a lack of internal coloring of the fruit, thereby reducing post harvest quality. The mechanism(s) associated with the development of TIR has not been identified. Microarray technology was applied to TIR as a model system. Our objective was to study gene expression over time in tomato plants subjected to a moderate infestation of whitefly and resulting in the development of TIR. Multiple plant harvests of old and young leaves, stems, roots, flowers and fruit from tomato with and without whitefly were processed for nutritional analysis and RNA extraction. RNA was labeled and hybridized to microarray slides to determine which genes SLW feeding influences. Plants infested with whitefly were larger, produced more leaves, flowers and fruit, but significantly less fruit ripened compared to plants without whitefly. Plant nutrition and RNA profiling results will be presented and discussed.