FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF THE GRAPE-XYLELLA INTERACTION: TOWARDS THE IDENTIFICATION OF HOST RESISTANCE DETERMINANTS

• Author(s): Cook, Francisco; Walker, Andrew;
• Abstract: Pierces disease (PD), caused by Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), is one of the most important diseases of grapevines (Purcell and Hopkins, 1996). Currently, the development of resistant varieties through classical breeding is limited by the absence of resistant phenotypes in Vitis vinifera. On the other hand, several wild grape species, not suitable for wine production, are known to either resist or tolerate infection by Xf. Therefore, an alternative approach for the development of resistance in cultivated grapes is to identify transcriptional pathways correlated with susceptible or resistant interactions in Vitis species. In principle, comparison of these two distinct interactions will reveal functional elements of the host resistance response, or conversely host functions that confer susceptibility (Cummings and Relman, 2000). The experimental strategies outlined below will use genomics technology to identify genes in Vitis species that may be causal to host susceptibility (in the case of V. vinifera) or resistance/tolerance (in the case of native Vitis species). Such information will considerably increase our knowledge of the Xylella-grape interaction, and potentially provide the basis for developing resistance to the PD pathogen in V. vinifera.
• Publication Date: Dec 2001
• Journal: 2001 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium