Inheritance of primed genes enhance common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) resistance to halo blight (Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola)
G. RAMIREZ (1), R. Alvarez (2) (1) CINVESTAV, Mexico; (2) CINVESTAV, Mexico

Plants respond to stressful conditions through diverse defense-priming mechanisms. Defense priming is a mechanism in which plants have the ability to respond in a stronger and rapidly manner when they are exposed to a stress, such as exposure to the phytopathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv phaseolicola. Such defense priming could be generational and transgenerational. Transgenerational induced responses involve an inherently higher level of resistance after an attack has occurred in the previous generation. Recent studies have demonstrated that plants attacked by pathogens produced seeds containing higher concentrations of defense compounds compared to control plants that were not infested. Furthermore, plant responses include changes in gene expression, production of defense signaling hormones, and increased accumulation of defense-related end products. In our work we found that transgenerational priming in plants that were attacked by pathogens in the parental generation show resistance to biotic stress, present higher transcript levels of defense genes (e.g. PvPR4 and PvISB1) and this correlates with specific histone modifications, when compared to control plants that were not infected. We argue that the higher level of resistance involved in the transgenerational priming might be caused by epigenetic signals that are transmitted through more than one generation.

Abstract Number: P17-593
Session Type: Poster