title: The performance of pathogenic bacterial phytosensing transgenic tobacco in the field.
abstract: Phytosensors are useful for rapid-on-the-plant detection of contaminants and agents that cause plant stress. Previously, we produced a series of plant pathogen-inducible synthetic promoters fused to an orange fluorescent protein (OFP) reporter gene and transformed them into tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana plants; in these transgenic lines, an OFP signal is expressed commensurate with the presence of plant pathogens. We report here the results of 2 years of field experiments using a subset of these bacterial phytosensing tobacco plants. Time-course analysis of field-grown phytosensors showed that a subset of plants responded predictably to treatments with Pseudomonas phytopathogens. There was a twofold induction in the OFP fluorescence driven by two distinct salicylic acid-responsive synthetic promoters, 4 × PR1 and 4 × SARE. Most notably, transgenic plants containing 4 × PR1 displayed the earliest and highest OFP induction at 48 and 72 h postinoculation (h p.i.) upon inoculation with two phytopathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and P. syringae pv. tabaci, respectively. These results demonstrate transgenic tobacco harbouring a synthetic inducible promoter-driven OFP could be used to facilitate monitoring and early-warning reporting of phytopathogen infections in agricultural fields.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Fethe
authors.forename: Wusheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jason N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Burris
authors.forename: Reginald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Millwood
authors.forename: Mitra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazarei
authors.forename: Mary R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rudis
authors.forename: Duncan G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Yeaman
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dubosquielle
authors.forename: Charles Neal
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000494:pharmacology; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000494:pharmacology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D044224:Pseudomonas syringae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D003517:Cyclopentanes; D005030:Ethylenes; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D054883:Oxylipins; C011006:jasmonic acid; C036216:ethylene; D020156:Salicylic Acid
keywords: field tested; phytobacterial pathogens; phytopathogen sensing; phytosensor; synthetic promoters; transgenic plants