Green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a vital marker for studying the interaction of Phytophthora sojae and soybean.

Transgenic Phytophthora sojae strains that produce green fluorescent protein (GFP) were obtained after stable DNA integration using the Hsp70 promoter and the Ham34 terminator of Bremia lactucae. The expression of GFP during different developmental stages of P. sojae was observed using fluorescent microscopy. Based on this reporter system, the histopathologic events caused by the pathogen in soybean leaves, hypocotyls and roots were monitored. Meanwhile, the difference in resistance between different soybean cultivars against P. sojae was analyzed microscopically in roots. The results indicate that GFP can be stably expressed in zoosporangia, zoospores, cysts, hyphae and oospores of P. sojae. Using the GFP marker, the infecting pathogens in leaves, hypocotyls and roots of host could be distinctly visualized. The germ tube length of cysts germinating on the roots of resistant cultivar Nannong 8848 was longer than that on the roots of susceptible cultivar Hefeng 35. These results show for the first time that this eukaryotic reporter can be used in P. sojae as a stable and vital marker, allowing the study of genetics of this hemibiotrophic pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]