Abstract Chitinase specific activity was measured spectrophotometrically in wheat leaf tissues during the compatible and incompatible interactions with Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, the causal agent of yellow rust disease. The wheat cultivar, Federation∗ 4/Kavkaz, was inoculated with virulent (134E134A+) or avirulent (4EOA+) races of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici in the first leaf stage. The results showed that chitinase activity pattern was similar in both compatible and incompatible interactions up to 72 hrs after inoculation. However, the specific activity increased rapidly in the incompatible reaction thereafter. In susceptible reaction, chitinase activity gradually declined after 72 hrs post-inoculation reaching a level similar to that in the control plants two weeks after inoculation. Chitinase specificactivityinresistanceresponsewasatleastthreetimesgreaterthanthatinthesusceptiblereactiontwoweeks followingthe inoculation.Electrophoresisof nativepolyacrylamidegel impregnatedwith 0.1% (w/v)glycolchitin as the substraterevealedthe presenceofeightchitinaseisoformswith relativeelectrophoreticmobility(Rm)values ranging from 0.11 to 0.64 in the resolving gel.
Key words: chitinase, Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, resistance, wheat; yellow rust disease