title: Expression of BrD1, a plant defensin from Brassica rapa, confers resistance against brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) in transgenic rices.
abstract: Plant defensins are small (5-10 kDa) basic peptides thought to be an important component of the defense pathway against fungal and/or bacterial pathogens. To understand the role of plant defensins in protecting plants against the brown planthopper, a type of insect herbivore, we isolated the Brassica rapa Defensin 1 (BrD1) gene and introduced it into rice (Oryza sativa L.) to produce stable transgenic plants. The BrD1 protein is homologous to other plant defensins and contains both an N-terminal endoplasmic reticulum signal sequence and a defensin domain, which are highly conserved in all plant defensins. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the defensin domain of various plant defensins, we established that BrD1 belongs to a distinct subgroup of plant defensins. Relative to the wild type, transgenic rices expressing BrD1 exhibit strong resistance to brown planthopper nymphs and female adults. These results suggest that BrD1 exhibits insecticidal activity, and might be useful for developing cereal crop plants resistant to sap-sucking insects, such as the brown planthopper.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, 441-857, Korea.
authors.forename: Man-Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Yul-Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyang-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Bo-Yoon
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Jin-Kyo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Sun-Tae
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Min-Chul
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Bum
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hong-Tai
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Im-Soo
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Chung-Kon
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jang-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D029741:Brassica rapa / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D023082:Defensins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D023082:Defensins; D010940:Plant Proteins