U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
3-2017
Citation
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BEAN IMPROVEMENT COOPERATIVE, No. 60, March 2017. Published by USDA.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Several anthracnose resistance loci have been identified in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), including the broad-based resistance locus Co-4 (Melotto et al., 2004). Co-4 contains several paralogs of the COK-4 gene that is predicted to code for a protein kinase. The predicted COK-4 protein is highly similar to FERONIA (FER), a membrane-localized receptorlike kinase of Arabidopsis that has been implicated in the regulation of plant growth. We observed that the fer-5 kinase null mutant has some developmental defects as it accumulates lower levels of fresh and dry weight than the wild type plants. Interestingly, genetic complementation of fer-5 with COK-4 partially rescued the wild type phenotype. Altogether, these data provide evidence that COK-4 is a structural and functional ortholog of FER kinase domain and these proteins may be involved in the control of growth-defense balance in plants.
MATERIAL AND METHODS Genetically complemented fer-5 mutant with the COK-4 gene isolated from the resistant bean genotype SEL1308 was obtained using the floral-dip method (Clough and Bent, 1998). Transgenic plants were selected by spraying a solution of BASTA (0.0114% of glufosinate ammonium) supplemented with 0.005% of Silwet. Col-0 and fer-5 plants containing the empty vector (35S-GFP), and the fer-5 expressing COK-4 (35S-GFP::COK-4) lines, were grown at 22- 24oC, 60±5% relative humidity, and 12 h photoperiod. Three sets of 10 four- to five-week old plants were collected to evaluated fresh and dry weights. The rosette of each genotype was kept at 70ºC during 72 hours to measure dry weight. The fresh weight was obtained immediately after removing the rosette from the soil. In both cases, the plant weight was obtained using analytical balance (OHAUS AV114 Adventurer Pro Analytical Balance) according with Abe et al. (2003).
Comments
U.S. government work.