細菌性軟腐病是影響全球海芋產業發展的主要限制因素。植物病原菌可利用不同的分子機制感染植物並引發病害，而相對地植物在面臨這些生物性逆境時，亦會啟動防禦機制以保護自身免於遭受病原菌的感染。白色海芋 (Zantedeschia aethiopica L.) 對軟腐病主要病原菌Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc) 的侵害相較於彩色海芋較為不敏感，為探討海芋抗軟腐病機制的優良材料。前人研究指出經由甲基茉莉酸預處理白色海芋葉片後，可引發其對軟腐病病原菌Pectobacterium carotovorum的長效抗性。不過現有關於海芋的遺傳資源及逆境反應所知仍然有限。基因資料庫是目前進行功能基因體研究不可或缺的資源。我們提出三年期計畫，擬經由構築經甲基茉莉酸預處理後接種Ecc (MEccZ) 及未經預處理直接接種Ecc (EccZ) 的白色海芋PCR-select扣減式cDNA基因庫，增加逆境相關基因的資源，並建構cDNA 生物晶片平台，比較在Ecc感染下的差異性基因表現，以篩選出影響其抗軟腐病危害的關鍵基因。經由探討海芋與病原菌在生物性防禦機制上的交互關係，以了解其分子作用機制，可為未來改良球根花卉增加生物性逆境抗性的重要參考指標。
Bacterial soft rot disease limits the global development of calla lily industry. Though phytopathogens mediate various mechanisms triggering disease incidence, plant may activate a complex set of defense response to protect them from pathogen infection. Zantedeschia aethiopica L. (white calla lily) has the superiority of less susceptibility to bacterial soft rot disease caused by Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc) than colorful calla lily. Previous study showed that application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on white calla lily can trigger a durable resistance against bacterial soft rot disease infected by Pectobacterium carotovorum. However, little is known about the molecular events involved in MeJA-mediated signaling to activate plant defense mechanisms in response to bacterial soft rot disease in Zantedeschia species. In this project, we plan to construct PCR-select subtracted cDNA libraries for preparation of a cDNA macroarray platform comprised of MeJA/Ecc-responsive genes. We also plan to elucidate the stress protective roles of MeJA in white calla lily. inoculated with Ecc and identify differentially expressed genes mediated by MeJA signaling related to induced resistance against Ecc in white calla lily. Integration with genetic resources and transcription profiles of differentially expressed genes may help to unveil the molecular events in defense mechanism against Ecc and could be employed to molecular breeding for soft rot-resistant calla lily through genetic transformation.
