title: Modification of phenolic metabolism in soybean hairy roots through down regulation of chalcone synthase or isoflavone synthase.
abstract: Soybean hairy roots, transformed with the soybean chalcone synthase (CHS6) or isoflavone synthase (IFS2) genes, with dramatically decreased capacity to synthesize isoflavones were produced to determine what effects these changes would have on susceptibility to a fungal pathogen. The isoflavone and coumestrol concentrations were decreased by about 90% in most lines apparently due to gene silencing. The IFS2 transformed lines had very low IFS enzyme activity in microsomal fractions as measured by the conversion of naringenin to genistein. The CHS6 lines with decreased isoflavone concentrations had 5 to 20-fold lower CHS enzyme activities than the appropriate controls. Both IFS2 and CHS transformed lines accumulated higher concentrations of both soluble and cell wall bound phenolic acids compared to controls with higher levels found in the CHS6 lines indicating alterations in the lignin biosynthetic branch of the pathway. Induction of the soybean phytoalexin glyceollin, of which the precursor is the isoflavone daidzein, by the fungal pathogen Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines (FSG) that causes soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS) showed that the low isoflavone transformed lines did not accumulate glyceollin while the control lines did. The (iso)liquritigenin content increased upon FSG induction in the IFS2 transformed roots indicating that the pathway reactions before this point can control isoflavonoid synthesis. The lowest fungal growth rate on hairy roots was found on the FSG partially resistant control roots followed by the SDS sensitive control roots and the low isoflavone transformants. The results indicate the importance of phytoalexin synthesis in root resistance to the pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, 1201 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. lozovaya@uiuc.edu
authors.forename: Vera V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Lozovaya
authors.forename: Anatoliy V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Lygin
authors.forename: Olga V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Zernova
authors.forename: Alexander V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Ulanov
authors.forename: Shuxian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Glen L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.forename: Jack M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Widholm
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020005:Propanols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013025:Glycine max / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D020005:Propanols; C439395:1-phenylpropanol; D010105:Oxygenases; C048489:isoflavone synthase; D000217:Acyltransferases; C055296:6'-deoxychalcone synthase