title: Development of insect resistant maize plants expressing a chitinase gene from the cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis.
abstract: Due to the importance of chitinolytic enzymes for insect, nematode and fungal growth, they are receiving attention concerning their development as biopesticides or chemical defense proteins in transgenic plants and as microbial biocontrol agents. Targeting chitin associated with the extracellular matrices or cell wall by insect chitinases may be an effective approach for controlling pest insects and pathogenic fungi. The ability of chitinases to attack and digest chitin in the peritrophic matrix or exoskeleton raises the possibility to use them as insect control method. In this study, an insect chitinase cDNA from cotton leaf worm (Spodoptera littoralis) has been synthesized. Transgenic maize plant system was used to improve its tolerance against insects. Insect chitinase transcripts and proteins were expressed in transgenic maize plants. The functional integrity and expression of chitinase in progenies of the transgenic plants were confirmed by insect bioassays. The bioassays using transgenic corn plants against corn borer (Sesamia cretica) revealed that ~50% of the insects reared on transgenic corn plants died, suggesting that transgenic maize plants have enhanced resistance against S. cretica.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah- 21955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Gamal H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah- 21955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Shireen K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Assem
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.|Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Rasha M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Alreedy
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah- 21955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Doaa K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: El-Ghareeb
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI), Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mahmoud A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Basry
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Anshu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rastogi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Biology, Warsaw University of Life Science - SGGW, Ul. Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Hazem M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kalaji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002688:Chitinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D003368:Gossypium / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000469:parasitology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018411:Spodoptera / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D002688:Chitinases