title: Isolation of ESTs from cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) leaves treated with inducers of the defense response.
abstract: Pathogenic diseases represent a major constraint to the growth and yield of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.). Ongoing research on model plant systems has revealed that defense responses are activated via signaling pathways mediated by endogenous signaling molecules such as salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene. Activation of plant defenses is associated with changes in the expression of large numbers of genes. To gain a better understanding of defense responses in cacao, we have employed suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA libraries, macroarray hybridization analysis, high throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatics to identify cacao genes induced by these signaling molecules. Additionally, we investigated gene activation by a phytotoxic elicitor-like protein, Nep1. We have identified a unigene set of 1,256 members, including 330 members representing genes induced during the defense response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture, College of Agricultural Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Verica
authors.forename: Siela N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Maximova
authors.forename: Mary D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Strem
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: Bryan A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Guiltinan
mesh_terms: D002099:Cacao / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D015723:Gene Library; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D015854:Up-Regulation