ARS | Publication request: GENOMIC EXPRESSION PROFILING IN SOYBEAN PLANTS RESISTANT OR SUSCEPTIBLE TO SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE (SCN)

Submitted to: Plant Physiology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 22, 2000
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The invasion of soybean plants by soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the major pathogen of soybean, results in the expression of specific genes in the soybean plant. The defense response of soybean to SCN is a multigenic trait and varies depending upon the genotypes of soybean and SCN. In order to provide a genome-wide analysis of the soybean genes that are expressed specifically in the roots of a resistant and a susceptible cultivar in response to a specific SCN isolate, microarray technology was used. Microarrays were produced that display PCR amplified cDNA inserts from approximately 1500 root-specific genes. These genes are derived from cDNA libraries made from root tissue of resistant soybean cultivars infected or not infected by SCN. The arrays were hybridized with probes derived from root mRNA of Peking (resistant) or Kent (susceptible) cultivars. The number of genes that were at least 2-fold induced in the presence of SCN was higher in the resistant cultivar as compared to the susceptible cultivar. Among the genes induced specifically in the resistant soybean variety are defense-related genes, potential regulatory factors such as phosphatases and transcription factors, and a number of genes encoding proteins of unknown function. These results provide some insights into the mechanisms used by soybean to respond to SCN attack.