title: Transgenic tomato plants expressing an Arabidopsis thionin (Thi2.1) driven by fruit-inactive promoter battle against phytopathogenic attack.
abstract: Tomato is one of the most important crop plants; however, attacks by pathogens can cause serious losses in production. In this report, we explore the potential of using the Arabidopsis thionin (Thi2.1) gene to genetically engineer enhanced resistance to multiple diseases in tomato. Potential thionin toxicity in fruits was negated by the use of a fruit-inactive promoter to drive the Thi2.1 gene. In transgenic lines containing RB7/Thi2.1, constitutive Thi2.1 expression was detected in roots and incidentally in leaves, but not in fruits. Disease assays revealed that the transgenic lines that were tested conferred significant levels of enhanced resistance to bacterial wilt (BW) and Fusarium wilt (FW). Further studies indicated that BW disease progression in transgenic lines was delayed by a systemic suppression of bacterial multiplication. By adopting a safe genetic engineering strategy, the present investigation is another step forward demonstrating thionin practicality in crop protection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of BioAgricultural Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuan-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Venkatesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.lastname: Sanjaya
authors.forename: Kuei Hung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Po Chang
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ming-Tsair
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Chiu-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D043368:Ralstonia solanacearum / Q000254:growth & development; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C097482:THI2.1 protein, Arabidopsis