Abstract

Transcriptomic studies on interaction between a geminivirus-resistant pepper accession (Capsicum chinense BG-3821) and either single or mixed infections by geminiviruses were evaluated by the method of subtractive suppressive hybridization (SSH). With a combination of SSH and DNA array hybridization techniques, around 250 ESTs including several up-regulated genes in the plant in single or mixed infections were identified. Twenty nine ESTs found higher expressed in DNA arrays, were sequenced. From the sequenced ESTs, twelve corresponded to single and seventeen to mixed geminivirus infections of C. chinense BG-3821. Gene homologies to plant defense, general metabolism, structural and signal transduction functions were identified. Five selected ESTs with homology to genes related in plant defense were further northern blot analyzed. This latter study confirmed differential expression of these selected ESTs. The present work, showed a transcriptomic profile, which agrees with other reports of plant-geminivirus interactions analyzed. Our results are discussed on the potential of transcriptomic studies to improve the knowledge at molecular level of plant-geminivirus interactions.

Key words: Resistance, geminivirus, pepper, transcriptome.