METHODS AND RESULTS: This study aimed to isolate and characterize the full-length cDNA encoding ERG11 from G. boninense. The G. boninense ERG11 gene expression during interaction with oil palm was also studied. A full-length 1860 bp cDNA encoding ERG11 was successfully isolated from G. boninense. The G. boninense ERG11 shared 91% similarity to ERG11 from other basidiomycete fungi. The protein structure homology modeling of GbERG11 was analyzed using the SWISS-MODEL workspace. Southern blot and genome data analyses showed that there is only a single copy of ERG11 gene in the G. boninense genome. Based on the in-vitro inoculation study, the ERG11 gene expression in G. boninense has shown almost 2-fold upregulation with the presence of oil palm.
CONCLUSION: This study provided molecular information and characterization study on the G. boninense ERG11 and this knowledge could be used to design effective control measures to tackle the BSR disease of oil palm.
BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, proteomic analysis was used to identify abundant proteins from total protein extracts. PEG fractionation was used to reveal lower abundant proteins from both high and low proliferation embryogenic lines of oil palm samples in tissue culture. A total of 40 protein spots were found to be significant in abundance and the mRNA levels of 12 of these were assessed using real time PCR. Three proteins namely, triosephosphate isomerase, l-ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were found to be concordant in their mRNA expression and protein abundance. Triosephosphate isomerase is a key enzyme in glycolysis. Both l-ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase play a role in anti-oxidative scavenging defense systems. These proteins have potential for use as biomarkers to screen for high and low embryogenic oil palm samples.