Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Project Title

Rosa hybrid gene GAPC is mutated in the presence of the Rose Rosette Virus

Authors

William A. Beams, Brescia UniversityFollow
Eva L. Burelos, Brescia UniversityFollow
Charles C. Hundley, Brescia UniversityFollow
Landon R. Dame, Brescia UniversityFollow
Laura G. Sims, Brescia UniversityFollow
Jacob J. Adler, Brescia UniversityFollow

Domain

Life Sciences

Abstract

Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) harms the global rose supply by modification of the growth and development in rose cultivar. RRD spreads via a negative-sense RNA plant virus transmitted by eriophyid mites. Importantly, there is no pre-existing knowledge about the biochemistry by which this virus debilitates roses. Here we implicate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), one of the major metabolic enzymes in plants, as a possible target of the virus. Genomic DNA of the cytosolic form of the protein encoded by GAPC was extracted from both virally-infected and non-infected samples of the Rosa hybrid cultivar Rosa Tropicana. The sequence results provided several distinct differences in the GAPC gene of the non-infected rose compared to the virally-infected rose. Importantly, these modified nucleotide bases resulted in a putative protein sequence containing four unique non-conserved amino acid substitutions in the GAPDH enzyme. This study provides the first evidence of a gene impacted in virally-infected rose plants.

Mentor Name

Jacob Adler

Mentor Email

jacob.adler@brescia.edu

Recommended Citation

Beams, William A.; Burelos, Eva L.; Hundley, Charles C.; Dame, Landon R.; Sims, Laura G.; and Adler, Jacob J. (2017) "Rosa hybrid gene GAPC is mutated in the presence of the Rose Rosette Virus," Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://encompass.eku.edu/kjus/vol1/iss1/10