Green fluorescent protein (GFP) as gene expression reporter and vital marker for studying development and microbe-plant interaction in the tobacco pathogen Phythphthora parasitica var. nicotianae.

PEG-mediated transformation of protoplasts in the presence of lipofectin was achieved in Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae, an oomycete pathogen of tobacco. Using oomycete promoter and terminator sequences, a plant-adapted green fluorescent protein (GFP) was introduced into the microorganism. The data show for the first time that this eukaryotic gene reporter can be used in an oomycete, both as a quantitative reporter of gene induction and as a vital marker allowing the study of development of Phytophthora in vitro and in the host plant.