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Reduction of lesion growth rate of late blight plant disease in transgenic potato expressing harpin protein

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Abstract

Using harpin protein gene from apple fire blight pathogenErwinia amylovora and potato prp1-1 promoter as main DNA elements, the feasibility of using pathogen infection-induced hypersensitive response was explored as a new strategy of engineering fungal disease resistance. Three plant transformation vectors were constructed and 68 transgenic potato plants were produced throughAgrobacterium mediated transformation method. Southern, Northern and Western blot analysis demonstrated the insertion, transcription and protein expression of harpin protein gene in transgenic plants. Disease resistance test using a complex race ofPhytophthora infestans as challenging pathogen showed that both constitutive and pathogen infection-induced expression of harpin protein gene in transgenic potato reduced the lesion growth rate of fungus. Among plants where harpin protein gene expression was induced only by fungus infection, two plants were found to be highly resistant to P.infestans infection. Fungal hyphae were not produced on total of 30 inoculated leaves from the two resistant plants and necrotic lesion was limited to inoculation area. The results highlighted that engineered hypersensitive response in plants was a very promising approach to produce fungal disease resistant genotype.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081, Beijing, China

    Li Rugang & Yunliu Fan

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  1. Li Rugang
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  2. Yunliu Fan
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Project partly supported by the Molecular Biology Laboratory of CPRO-DLO in Netherlands.

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Li, R., Fan, Y. Reduction of lesion growth rate of late blight plant disease in transgenic potato expressing harpin protein. Sci. China Ser. C.-Life Sci. 42, 96–101 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02881754

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02881754

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