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Grapevines engineered to express cisgenic Vitis vinifera thaumatin-like protein exhibit fungal disease resistance

  • Developmental Biology
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Abstract

Cisgenic engineering involves isolation and modification of genetic elements from the host genome, which are reinserted to develop plant varieties with improved characteristics. As a first step toward production of fungal-disease resistant cisgenic grapevines, the Vitis vinifera thaumatin-like protein (vvtl-1) gene was isolated from “Chardonnay” and reengineered for constitutive expression. Embryogenic cultures of “Thompson Seedless” were initiated from leaves and transformed with Agrobacterium to regenerate cisgenic VVTL-1 plants. Cisgene presence and copy number were confirmed by PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Protein expression was measured using ELISA. Among the plant lines tested, two exhibited a 7–10 day delay in powdery mildew disease development during greenhouse screening and decreased severity of black rot disease in field tests. Berries exhibited a 42.5% reduction in sour-bunch rot disease incidence compared to non-transformed controls after 3 wk of storage at room temperature. Although plants recovered in this study contain viral promoters and reporter/marker genes, this is the first report of a cisgenic approach to obtain broad-spectrum fungal-disease resistance in genetically engineered grapevine.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Viticulture Trust Fund and the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station. We thank Mary S Brennan for assistance with statistical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida/IFAS, 2725 Binion Road, Apopka, FL, 32703-8504, USA

    Sadanand A. Dhekney, Zhijian T. Li & Dennis J. Gray

  2. Agricultural Research Station, Fort Valley State University, 1005 State University Drive, Fort Valley, GA, 31030-4313, USA

    Sadanand A. Dhekney

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  1. Sadanand A. Dhekney
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  2. Zhijian T. Li
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  3. Dennis J. Gray
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Correspondence to Dennis J. Gray.

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Editor: D. T. Tomes

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Dhekney, S.A., Li, Z.T. & Gray, D.J. Grapevines engineered to express cisgenic Vitis vinifera thaumatin-like protein exhibit fungal disease resistance. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 47, 458–466 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-011-9358-3

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