Transgenic tomato plants expressing an Arabidopsis thionin (Thi2.1) driven by fruit-inactive promoter battle against phytopathogenic attack.
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.
Chan
Yuan-Li
YL
Institute of BioAgricultural Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan.
Prasad
Venkatesh
V
Sanjaya
Chen
Kuei Hung
KH
Liu
Po Chang
PC
Chan
Ming-Tsair
MT
Cheng
Chiu-Ping
CP
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
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C097482:THI2.1 protein, Arabidopsis