A pathogen-induced osmotin-like protein gene, CAOSMl, from pepper： Differential expression and in situ localization in pepper tissues during pathogen infection and abiotic stresses

An osmotin-like protein (CAOSMl) gene was isolated from pepper leaves infected with the avirulent strain Bv5-4a of Xmthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. The cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 250 amino acids with a molecular mass of 27, 361 Da. Its amino acid sequence is highly homologous to various osmotin-like proteins from other plant species. The CAOSMl gene expression was organ- and tissue-specifically regulated In pepper plants. The CAOSMl mRNA was intensely localized in the endodermis area of root tissue and in the phloem cells of vascular bundles of red fruit tissue, but not in leaf, stem, and green fruit tissues of healthy pepper plants. Infection by X. c. pv vesintoria, Colletotrichum coccodes, or Phytopkhora capsici iinduced CAOSMl transcription in the leaf or stem tissues. Expression of the CAOSMl gene was somewhat higher in the incompatible than the compatible interactions of pathogens with pepper. The CAOSMl mRNA was prevalently localized in the phloem cells of the vascular bundle of leaf tissues infected by C. coccodes. The CAOSMl gene was activated in leaf tissues by treatment with ethylene, methyl jasmonate, high salinity, cold acclimation and mechanical wounding, but not by abscisic acid (ABA) and drought. These results indicate that the pepper CAOSMl protein functions in response to Pathogens and some abiotic stresses in pepper plants