title: Expression of a plant defensin in rice confers resistance to fungal phytopathogens.
abstract: Transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Pusa basmati 1), overexpressing the Rs-AFP2 defensin gene from the Raphanus sativus was generated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Expression levels of Rs-AFP2 ranged from 0.45 to 0.53% of total soluble protein in transgenic plants. It was observed that constitutive expression of Rs-AFP2 suppresses the growth of Magnaporthe oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani by 77 and 45%, respectively. No effect on plant morphology was observed in the Rs-AFP2 expressing rice lines. The inhibitory activity of protein extracts prepared from leaves of Rs-AFP2 plants on the in vitro growth of M. oryzae indicated that the Rs-AFP2 protein produced by transgenic rice plants was biologically active. Transgene expression of Rs-AFP2 was not accompanied by an induction of pathogenesis-related (PR) gene expression, suggesting that the expression of Rs-AFP2 directly inhibits the pathogens. Here, we demonstrate that transgenic rice plants expressing the Rs-AFP2 gene show enhanced resistance to M. oryzae and R. solani, two of the most important pathogens of rice.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genome Research, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology Centre, Faculty of Science, The M S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, 390002, India.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.forename: Bharat B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Chattoo
mesh_terms: D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D023082:Defensins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D031224:Raphanus / Q000235:genetics; D012232:Rhizoctonia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D023082:Defensins; D010936:Plant Extracts
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