First functional study of a subfamily III member of the Snakin/GASA family in Solanum tuberosum.

NAHIRÑAK V; ALMASIA N I; VAZQUEZ ROVERE C; HOPP H E

ROSARIO

Congreso; RAFV Conference 2023 XXXIV Argentinian Meeting of Plant Physiology; 2023

RAFV

Snakin/GASA peptides are cysteine-rich AMPs whose functions are not fully understood. Their participation in various aspects of development and biotic or abiotic stress tolerance has been described. In potato we have identified 18 genes of the Snakin/GASA family, being Snakin-1, Snakin-2 and Snakin-3 members of subfamilies I, II and III, respectively. So far, SN1 and SN2 have been functionally characterized by demonstrating their antimicrobial activity against fungi and bacteria.In order to study the role of a member of the 3rd subfamily in plant development and responses to various stresses, we obtained transgenic potato lines with altered levels of Snakin-3, we conducted in-silico and in-vivo studies of its promoter and we determined its subcellular localization. The results obtained so far suggest a functional differentiation of Snakin-3 since it has a differential expression regulation with respect to Snakin-1 and Snakin-2 and presents a different subcellular location, being found in the endoplasmic reticulum. Likewise, in this work we will present the advances made in the molecular and morphological characterization of transgenic lines and in challenge tests against bacterial pathogens.