Molecular characterization of Pvr9 that confers a hypersensitive response to Pepper mottle virus (a potyvirus) in Nicotiana benthamiana

There are some 12 genes against potyviruses which were mapped in pepper. However, none of them has been characterized at the molecular level. In this study, we characterized Pvr9 which is an Rpi-bIb2 ortholog from pepper and confers a hypersensitive response to Pepper mottle virus (PepMoV) in a transient expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana. This gene putatively encoded for 1298 amino acids and is located on pepper chromosome 6. PepMoV NIb was the elicitor of the Pvr9-mediated hypersensitive response. NIb from several other potyviruses also elicited the hypersensitive response. Inoculation of pepper with PepMoV resulted in a minor increase in Pyr9 transcription in the resistant cultivar CM334 and a slight down-regulation in the susceptible cultivar Floral Gem. The 5' upstream region of Pvr9 from cultivar CM334 had higher transcription activity than the region from cultivar Floral Gem. The cultivars CM334 and Floral Gem had non-functional Pvr9 homologs with loss-of-function mutations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.