title: Immunomodulation confers herbicide resistance in plants.
abstract: In order to create a novel mechanism for herbicide resistance in plants, we expressed a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv) in tobacco with specific affinity to the auxinic herbicide picloram. Transgenic tobacco plants and seedlings expressing this scFv against picloram were protected from its effect in a dose-dependent manner. This is the first successful use of an antibody to confer in vivo resistance to a low molecular weight xenobiotic (i.e. < 1000 Da). Our results suggest the possibility for a generic antibody-based approach to create crops resistant to low molecular weight xenobiotics for subsequent use in the bioremediation of contaminated soils, crop protection and as novel selectable markers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Kurt C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Almquist
authors.forename: Yongqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: McLean
authors.forename: Frank L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Mena
authors.forename: Kerrm Y F
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yau
authors.forename: Kirk
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Jim E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Brandle
authors.forename: J Christopher
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hall