AUTHOR=Jin Jing-Hao , Zhang Huai-Xia , Tan Jun-Yi , Yan Ming-Jia , Li Da-Wei , Khan Abid , Gong Zhen-Hui 

TITLE=A New Ethylene-Responsive Factor CaPTI1 Gene of Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Involved in the Regulation of Defense Response to Phytophthora capsici

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01217

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.01217

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Ethylene-responsive factors (<italic>ERF</italic>) are usually considered to play diverse roles in plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, an <italic>ERF</italic> gene <italic>CaPTI1</italic> was isolated from pepper transcriptome database. <italic>CaPTI1</italic> contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 543 bp, which encodes a putative polypeptide of 180 amino acids with a theoretical molecular weight of 20.30 kDa. Results of expression profile showed that <italic>CaPTI1</italic> had a highest expression level in roots and this gene could not only response to the infection of <italic>Phytophthora capsici</italic> and the stresses of cold and drought, but also be induced by the signaling molecule (salicylic acid, Methyl Jasmonate, Ethephon, and hydogen peroxide). Furthermore, virus-induce gene silencing (VIGS) of <italic>CaPTI1</italic> in pepper weakened the defense response significantly by reducing the expression of defense related genes <italic>CaPR1</italic>, <italic>CaDEF1</italic> and <italic>CaSAR82</italic> and also the root activity. These results suggested that <italic>CaPTI1</italic> is involved in the regulation of defense response to <italic>P. capsici</italic> in pepper.</p>