Cloning, expression, and sequence conservation of pathogenesis-related gene transcripts of potato

Treatment of potato tuber disks with arachidonic acid elicits the accumulation of several mRNAs. cDNA clones corresponding to two of these mRNAs were isolated and characterized. Nucleotide sequence analysis reveals that both clones (pSTH-2 and pSTH-21) contain an open-reading frame coding for a 155-amino acid polypeptide. The polypeptides encoded by the two clones differ by only six amino acids and show a high degree of similarity with PR protein sequences from pea (approximately 42%) and parsley (approximately 37%). mRNAs corresponding to the two potato cDNA clones also accumulate in Solanum chacoense and in tomato following elicitor treatment. Maximum accumulation of the mRNAs corresponding to the two cDNA clones is reached 24 hr after elicitor treatment of the tuber disks. pSTH-2-related mRNAs also accumulate in tubers after wounding or treatment with eicosapentaenoic acid and are detected in potato and tomato leaves treated with a Phytophthora infestans mycelium homogenate. The presence of these conserved genes in species from three plant families and the similarity of their induction pattern suggest an important function during the plant defense response.