2 research outputs found
Overproduction of salicylic acid in plants by bacterial transgenes enhances pathogen resistance
After a hypersensitive response to invading pathogens, plants show elevated accumulation of salicylic
acid (SA), induced expression of plant defense genes, and systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to further
infection by a broad range of pathogens. There is compelling evidence that SA plays a crucial role in triggering
SAR. We have transformed tobacco with two bacterial genes coding for enzymes that convert
chorismate into SA by a two-step process. When the two enzymes were targeted to the chloroplasts, the
transgenic (CSA, constitutive SA biosynthesis) plants showed a 500- to 1,000-fold increased accumulation
of SA and SA glucoside compared to control plants. Defense genes, particularly those encoding
acidic pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, were constitutively expressed in CSA plants. This expression
did not affect the plant phenotype, but the CSA plants showed a resistance to viral and fungal infection resembling SAR in nontransgenic plants.Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of
Education, Culture and Science, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature
Management and Fishery in the framework of a research program of the
Association of Biotechnology Centres in the Netherlands (ABON)Peer reviewe