Hypolignification: a decisive factor in the development of hyperhydricity

One of the characteristics of hyperhydric plants is the reduction of cell wall lignification (hypolignification), but how this is related to the observed abnormalities of hyperhydricity (HH), is still unclear. Lignin is hydrophobic, and we speculate that a reduction in lignin levels leads to more capillary action of the cell wall and consequently to more water in the apoplast. p-coumaric acid is the hydroxyl derivative of cinnamic acid and a precursor for lignin and flavonoids in higher plant. In the present study, we examined the role of lignin in the development of HH in Arabidopsis thaliana by checking the wild-types (Ler and Col-0) and mutants affected in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, in the gene coding for cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, C4H (ref3-1 and ref3-3). Exogenously applied p-coumaric acid decreased the symptoms of HH in both wild-type and less-lignin mutants. Moreover, the results revealed that exogenously applied p-coumaric acid inhibited root growth and increased the total lignin content in both wild-type and less-lignin mutants. These effects appeared to diminish the symptoms of HH and suggest an important role for lignin in HH

3':5'-Cyclic AMP-dependent 3'

Suspensions of 3':5'-cyclic AMP (cAMP)-sensitive cells of Dictyostelium discoideum responded to a cAMP pulse with increased 3':5'-cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels. Under the assay conditions used (2 × 10^8 cells per ml in 10 mM phosphate buffer, pH 6.0) cAMP (5 × 10-8 M final concentration) increased cGMP levels from 1 pmol per 10^7 cells to 7 pmol per 10^7 cells in 10 sec and basal levels were recovered in 20-25 sec. cGMP accumulation did not occur when cells were in the cAMP-insensitive stage. cAMP-sensitive cells responded with increased cGMP levels when triggered by 5 × 10-8 M 5'-CH2-cAMP or 10-5 M adenosine-5'-methylmonophosphate (5'-AMPMe) but not after addition of 5 × 10-8 M 3':5'-cyclic IMP (cIMP) or 5 × 10-8 M 5'-AMP. As agonists of cAMP, 5'-CH2-cAMP and 5'-AMPMe have, respectively, more than 10% and 1% the chemotactic activity of cAMP, while cIMP has 0.01% the activity of cAMP and 5-AMP is inactive up to a concentration of 10-3 M. cAMP-mediated cGMP formation was dependent upon cAMP concentration, with a half-maximal cAMP concentration of about 10-8 M. This cAMP concentration agrees closely with that necessary for half-maximal receptor occupation. cAMP-mediated cGMP formation was independent of the presence of extracellular Ca2+; cell aggregation and chemotaxis were also independent of the presence of external Ca2+. Therefore, cAMP action does not depend on stimulation of the Ca2+ influx. cAMP was found to mediate desensitization of cAMP-dependent cGMP formation. Additon of 5 × 10-8 M cAMP to sensitive cells induced a desensitization period that lasted 1-5 min. Desensitization was dependent on the cAMP concentration. Finally, we propose that the translation of a chemotactic signal from the cell surface to pseudopod formation in Dictyostelium involves changes in the levels of cGMP

Performance and long-term stability of the barley hordothionin gene in multiple transgenic apple lines

Introduction of sustainable scab resistance in elite apple cultivars is of high importance for apple cultivation when aiming at reducing the use of chemical crop protectants. Genetic modification (GM) allows the rapid introduction of resistance genes directly into high quality apple cultivars. Resistance genes can be derived from apple itself but genetic modification also opens up the possibility to use other, non-host resistance genes. A prerequisite for application is the long-term performance and stability of the gene annex trait in the field. For this study, we produced and selected a series of transgenic apple lines of two cultivars, i.e. ‘Elstar’ and ‘Gala’ in which the barley hordothionin gene (hth) was introduced. After multiplication, the GM hth-lines, non-GM susceptible and resistant controls and GM non-hth controls were planted in a random block design in a field trial in 40 replicates. Scab resistance was monitored after artificial inoculation (first year) and after natural infection (subsequent years). After the trial period, the level of expression of the hth gene was checked by quantitative RT-PCR. Four of the six GM hth apple lines proved to be significantly less susceptible to apple scab and this trait was found to be stable for the entire 4-year period. Hth expression at the mRNA level was also stable

Functional analysis and expression profiling of HcrVf1 and HcrVf2 for development of scab resistant cisgenic and intragenic apples

Apple scab resistance genes, HcrVf1 and HcrVf2, were isolated including their native promoter, coding and terminator sequences. Two fragment lengths (short and long) of the native gene promoters and the strong apple rubisco gene promoter (PMdRbc) were used for both HcrVf genes to test their effect on expression and phenotype. The scab susceptible cultivar ‘Gala’ was used for plant transformations and after selection of transformants, they were micrografted onto apple seedling rootstocks for scab disease tests. Apple transformants were also tested for HcrVf expression by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). For HcrVf1 the long native promoter gave significantly higher expression that the short one; in case of HcrVf2 the difference between the two was not significant. The apple rubisco gene promoter proved to give the highest expression of both HcrVf1 and HcrVf2. The top four expanding leaves were used initially for inoculation with monoconidial isolate EU-B05 which belongs to race 1 of V. inaequalis. Later six other V. inaequalis isolates were used to study the resistance spectra of the individual HcrVf genes. The scab disease assays showed that HcrVf1 did not give resistance against any of the isolates tested regardless of the expression level. The HcrVf2 gene appeared to be the only functional gene for resistance against Vf avirulent isolates of V. inaequalis. HcrVf2 did not provide any resistance to Vf virulent strains, even not in case of overexpression. In conclusion, transformants carrying the apple-derived HcrVf2 gene in a cisgenic as well as in an intragenic configuration were able to reach scab resistance levels comparable to the Vf resistant control cultivar obtained by classical breeding, cv. ‘Santana’

Towards the production of genetically modified strawberries which are acceptable to consumers

-This manuscript discusses different aspects that are relevant to genetically modified strawberry plants with improved characteristics and ‘acceptable’ to consumers and growers of strawberry. It starts with a consumer acceptance survey, held in Norway, Denmark and the UK, studying public perception of genetic modification in general and specifically of genetically modified strawberries with altered properties. This study revealed that genetically modified plants are better accepted by consumers if only genes from the species itself are used for the genetic modification. Subsequently, the results of a functional analysis of the strawberry polygalacturonase inhibiting protein gene (FaPGIP) are described. This indicates that this gene is a possible candidate to induce resistance to Botrytis cinerea when upregulated in strawberry fruits. For this analysis, the FaPGIP gene was overexpressed in transgenic strawberry plants using the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter. This showed that FaPGIP overexpression led to resistance to Botrytis in transgenic leaves. For the generation of intragenic (i.e. genetically modification using native genetic elements only) strawberry plants, a transformation vector was constructed in which FaPGIP was combined with a strawberry fruit-specific promoter and terminator that were isolated from a strawberry expansin gene (FaExp2). This vector also included elements that allow the elimination of (foreign) selectable marker genes after genetically modified plant lines have been established. Using this vector, genetically modified strawberry plants were produced that contained only genes from the species itself, and therefore these plants were called intragenic, rather than transgenic. Unfortunately, further evaluations of the intragenic strawberry plants could not demonstrate any enhanced level of resistance to Botrytis in fruits