Abstract
Raspberries are rich in vitamins, sugars, organic acids, and secondary metabolites. However, the yield and quality of raspberry fruits can be compromised by fungal diseases. Resveratrol is a secondary metabolite derived from the phenylpropane metabolic pathway that plays a key role in plants defenses. To improve the defenses of raspberry plants against Botrytis cinerea, the genes of two crucial enzymes involved in resveratrol synthesis (4-coumaroyl-CoA ligase, 4CL; stilbene synthase, STS), were fused together and overexpressed in raspberry seedlings. In these transgenic plants, a high level of resveratrol was detected (13.8 ± 0.34 μg/g fresh weight) by high-performance liquid chromatography. This amount was 2.4 times higher than that in plants expressing the STS gene alone (5.6 ± 0.27 μg/g fresh weight). In addition, compared to non-transgenic plants and transgenic plants with STS gene, transgenic raspberry seedlings with the fusion gene showed significantly increased resistance to B. cinerea. These findings provide deeper insight into the utility of fusion genes in improving plants defenses against pathogens.
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Abbreviations
- 4CL:
-
4-coumaroyl-CoA ligase
- STS:
-
Stilbene synthase
- DKW:
-
Driver and Kuniyuki
- PDA:
-
Potato dextrose agar
- HPLC:
-
High-performance liquid chromatography
- Nt4CL:
-
4CL from Nicotiana tabacum
- PcSTS:
-
STS from Pediomelum cuspidatum
- LB:
-
Left border
- RB:
-
Right border
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31370674).
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13562_2022_784_MOESM1_ESM.tif
Fig. S1 HPLC analysis of standard resveratrol (a), extracts from transgenic plants with the p3301-121 vector (b), transgenic plants with p3301-121-4CL-GSG-STS (c), and transgenic plants with p3301-121-STS (d). (TIF 1353 kb)
13562_2022_784_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Fig. S2 Etiolation rate of raspberry leaves. Non-transgenic (a), p3301-121-STS transgenic (b), and p3301-121-4CL-GSG-STS transgenic (c) plants at 0, 2, 5, 10, and 15 days. The etiolation rate (%) = (chlorisis area/total leaf area) × 100%. Values are means ± SD (n = 3). * indicates significant differences (p < 0.05). (TIF 162 kb)
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Zhang, J., Yan, X., Huang, T. et al. Overexpressing 4-coumaroyl-CoA ligase and stilbene synthase fusion genes in red raspberry plants leads to resveratrol accumulation and improved resistance against Botrytis cinerea. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 32, 85–91 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-022-00784-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-022-00784-3