Root colonization by a rhizobacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6, elicited induced systemic resistance (ISR) in the leaves of cucumber plants against fungal and bacterial pathogens. To understand the role of unique genes during strain O6-mediated ISR, a suppressive subtractive hybridization method was undertaken and led to isolation of twenty-five distinct genes. The transcriptional levels of all the genes showed an increase much earlier under O6 treatment than in water control plants only after challenge with pathogen, while no difference detected on the plants without pathogen challenge. This suggests that O6-mediated ISR is associated with the priming phenomenon, an enhanced capacity for the rapid and effective activation of cellular defense responses after challenge inoculation.