Production of plantibodies in Nicotiana plants

NmDef02, a novel antimicrobial gene isolated from Nicotiana megalosiphon confers high-level pathogen resistance under greenhouse and field conditions

Plant defensins are small cysteine-rich peptides that inhibit the growth of a broad range of microbes. In this article, we describe NmDef02, a novel cDNA encoding a putative defensin isolated from Nicotiana megalosiphon upon inoculation with the tobacco blue mould pathogen Peronospora hyoscyami f.sp. tabacina. NmDef02 was heterologously expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris, and the purified recombinant protein was found to display antimicrobial activity in vitro against important plant pathogens. Constitutive expression of NmDef02 gene in transgenic tobacco and potato plants enhanced resistance against various plant microbial pathogens, including the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, causal agent of the economically important potato late blight disease, under greenhouse and field conditions.

Over-expression of a protein kinase gene enhances the defense of tobacco against Rhizoctonia solani

To identify Nicotiana tabacum genes involved in resistance and susceptibility to Rhizoctonia solani, suppression subtractive hybridization was used to generate a cDNA library from transcripts that are differentially expressed during a compatible and incompatible interaction. This allowed the isolation of a protein kinase cDNA that was down-regulated during a compatible and up-regulated during an incompatible interaction. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of this gene confirmed the differential expression patterns between the compatible and incompatible interactions. Over-expression of this gene in tobacco enhanced the resistance to damping-off produced by an aggressive R. solani strain. Furthermore, silencing of this protein kinase gene reduced the resistance to a non-aggressive R. solani strain. A set of reported tobacco-resistant genes were also evaluated in tobacco plants over-expressing and silencing the protein kinase cDNA. Several genes previously associated with resistance in tobacco, like manganese superoxide dismutase, Hsr203J, chitinases and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, were up-regulated in tobacco plants over-expressing the protein kinase cDNA. Potentially, the protein kinase gene could be used to engineer resistance to R. solani in tobacco cultivars susceptible to this important pathogen.

Black shank resistant tobacco by silencing of glutathione S-transferase

A glutathione S-transferase gene was amplified from cDNA of Nicotiana tabacum roots infected with Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae. The gene was cloned in sense and anti-sense orientation to an RNAi vector for induced gene silencing, and reduced expression of the gene was detected by RT-PCR. A statistically significant increase in resistance of N. tabacum to infection following gene silencing was found for glutathione S-transferase-silenced plants compared with control plants. Some defense genes were up-regulated in glutathione S-transferase-silenced plants during the interaction with the pathogen. This is the first evidence of the role of glutathione S-transferase as negative regulator of defense response.