Differential gene expression in two potato lines differing in their resistance to Phytophthora infestans

Horizontal resistance to late blight in the potato is a primary objective of many breeding programs. Knowledge of the physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying it, however, is scarce. The purpose of the present study was the identification of these physiological and biochemical factors in plant material obtained by crossing a late blight resistant Solanum phureja clone with a susceptible dihaploid of S. tuberosum subsp. tuberosum. The mRNA RT-PCR differential display method was used to compare the gene expression patterns of a resistant hybrid with that of a susceptible one. By sequence homology, we identified several genes with diverse functions, including genes known to be involved in resistance or stress responses and genes known to be involved in primary or secondary metabolism.