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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Crop Diseases, Pests and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #291335
Title: Relationship of potato biochemical responses to ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’, causal agent of zebra chip, to disease progression

Author
item Wallis, Christopher
item RASHED, ARASH - Texas A&M University
item Wallingford, Anna
item RUSH, CHARLES - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2013
Publication Date: 6/1/2013
Citation: Wallis, C.M., Rashed, A., Wallingford, A.K., Rush, C.M. 2013. Relationship of potato biochemical responses to ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’, causal agent of zebra chip, to disease progression. American Phytopathological Society Abstracts. 103(S2):154.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Zebra chip disease is an emerging threat to potato production in the United States and elsewhere. Knowledge of how potato hosts respond to the presumptive causal agent, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (CLS), will aid with efforts to breed potatoes more tolerant to infections by this bacterium. To this end, multiple aspects of potato physiological responses to CLS were examined. Changes in host biochemistry over the course of infection, responses of different cultivars of potatoes to CLS, and differences in biochemical responses in tubers versus shoots and leaves were assessed. Host biochemical responses to CLS were consistently observed to be positively associated with zebra chip symptom severity. That is, CLS-infection resulted in greater levels of phenolic compounds, reducing sugars, and certain amino acids, which were associated with greater symptom progression over time. Therefore, one target for breeding programs should be to develop potato cultivars that do not respond to infection by major shifts in host biochemistry. These cultivars are expected to be less symptomatic than cultivars currently used in commercial production.