Plum pox virus induces differential gene expression in the partially resistant stone fruit tree Prunus armeniaca cv. Goldrich

We investigated the changes in the expression profiles of the partially resistant apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivar Goldrich following inoculation with Plum pox virus (PPV) using cDNA-amplification fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Altered expression patterns were detected and twenty-one differentially expressed cDNA had homologies with genes in databases coding for proteins involved in metabolism, signal transduction, defense, stress and intra/intercellular connections. Seven of the modified expressed patterns were further investigated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR or Northern blotting. The expression patterns of five of these genes were confirmed in the partially resistant P. armeniaca cv. ‘Goldrich’ and assessed in a susceptible genotype. One of these cDNAs, coding for a putative class III chitinase, appeared to be repressed in infected plants of the partially resistant genotype and expressed in the susceptible one which could be related to the partially resistant phenotype. On the contrary, the expression patterns of the genes coding for a transketolase, a kinesin-like and an ankyrin-like protein, were clearly linked to the susceptible interaction. These candidate genes could play a role either in the compatible interaction leading to virus invasion or to the quantitative resistance of apricot to PPV.