Location: Vegetable Crops Research
Project Number: 5090-21220-006-042-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2024
End Date: Jul 31, 2026
Objective:
We are interested in analyzing intron splicing changes that occur in potato during infection with various plant pathogens. This project started using the late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans, but will expand the objectives to include discovery of alternative splicing during infection with Alternaria solani (early blight), Potato Virus Y, and Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid. The purpose of this project is to identify differentially spliced genes during pathogen infection and develop methods to verify alternative intron splicing as well as test intron splicing under other stress conditions.
Approach:
We will analyze RNA sequencing information to identify splicing junction sites that are differentially utilized when plants are exposed to various pathogens. The cooperator will carry out bioinformatic analysis of the RNAseq data to identify the intron splicing junctions and assist in developing PCR primers that flank the introns, which will be used for verification by the USDA.