Studies on the interaction of citrus with Alternaria alternata, causal agent of citrus brown spot

Abstract

The pathotype tangerine of the plant pathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata is responsible to induce a host specific toxin (toxin ACT) high active in varieties of mandarins and their hybrids. The action of toxin ACT develops a lesion in leaves and fruits known as citrus brown spot (CBS) or Alternaria citrus brown spot, currently the most severe disease of mandarins and its hybrids. There is a lot of information on genetic and biology of Alternaria alternate, few is known on the site of action of toxin in the cells, as well as the response of the host to the infection. Thus, this proposal aims to characterize the differentially expressed genes and proteins in leaves of susceptible and tolerant varieties of mandarins. The proteins will be separated and identified by two dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy. The level of transcripts will be follow up by real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). (AU)