Biennial Report 2011–2012

PhD students Robertas Galinis and Justina Rutkauskaitė
synthesis pathway genes in horticultural plants“ aims to elucidate
anthocyanin synthesis pathways in plants of Fragaria and
Prunus genera belonging to Rosaceae family and Ribes genus
belonging to Saxifragales order. MYB and bHLH transcription
factors are the key players responsible for pigmentation
differences in separate varieties or species of the same genera.
The sequences of these genes from several Fragaria, Prunus and
Ribes species are cloned and are currently under analysis. The
detailed expression studies in horticultural plants along with
functional studies in transient expression systems are undertaken.
Obtained information will be used by horticultural specialists
for directional breeding of Fragaria, Prunus and Ribes varieties
with high anthocyanin content.
Effect of elevated ozone concentration
on host-viroid interaction
It is known that plant susceptibility to fungal, bacterial and
viral plant pathogens may be significantly altered by elevated
concentration of tropospheric ozone. However the effect of elevated
ozone concentration on pathogenicity and spread of the
subviral pathogen remains unknown. Our studies are devoted
to get some evidence if plant and sub-viral pathogen interaction
may be altered by the elevated ozone concentration. The
wide range of ozone treatments was applied on the experimental
system, formed from the tomato variety Micro-Tom and
potato spindle tuber viroid. Significant of differences in plant
response to elevated ozone concentration between inoculated
and not inoculated plants were strongly influenced by ozone
treatment indicating that pathogenicity of potato spindle tuber
viroid can be altered by the exposure of inoculated plants to severe
ozone stress. (Fig. 7).
Differences in the plant height and the degree of defoliation observed
between viroid infected (in the left) and uninfected (in
the right) tomatoes (lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv. “Micro-
Tom“ in six weeks after acute ozone treatment (400ppb x 6h)
carried on young plants.
Figure 7. Viroid infection in tomatoes.
Vilnius University Institute of Biotechnology Biennial report for 2011–2012 47