Osmotic Stress Induces the Expression of VvMAP Kinase Gene in Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

Abiotic stress adversely affects the growth of grapevine plants. In order to study the early expression changes of genes particularly involved in signal transduction upon salt and drought stresses in grapevines, ESTs derived from a suppressive subtractive hybridization approach (SSH) were selected for expression studies. We were particularly interested in the expression behaviour of the MAP kinase cDNA clone identified by differential screening of the salt-stressed SSH libraries. Interestingly, VvMAP kinase transcript showed a differential expression towards salt and drought treatment in the salt tolerant cultivar Razegui. The upregulation of this transcript was confirmed by RNA blot analysis. Our results revealed that the VvMAP kinase gene could be classified as an osmotic stress responsive gene as its expression was induced by salinity and drought. Furthermore, our study provides the basis for future research on the diverse signaling pathways mediated by MAPKs in grapevine