Expression of pokeweed antiviral proteins in creeping bentgrass

Abstract

Fungal diseases of creeping bentgrass, an important amenity grass used extensively on golf courses, are a serious problem in golf course management. Transgenic approaches to improving disease resistance to fungal diseases are being explored in many species, and in some cases ribosome-inactivating proteins have been found to be effective. We have generated transgenic creeping bentgrass plants expressing three forms of ribosome-inactivating proteins from pokeweed, which are termed pokeweed antiviral proteins (PAP). PAP-Y and PAP-C are nontoxic mutants of PAP; PAPII is the native form of another ribosome-inactivating protein from pokeweed. In creeping bentgrass, PAP-C transformants did not accumulate the protein, suggesting that it is unstable, and in a field test these plants were not protected from infection by the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, the causal agent of dollar spot disease. PAPII transformants could accumulate stable levels of the protein but had symptoms of toxicity; one low-expressing line exhibited good disease resistance. PAP-Y transformants accumulated stable levels of protein, and under greenhouse conditions they appeared to be phenotypically normal.

Transgenic Plants of Creeping Bent Grass Harboring the Stress Inducible Gene, 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, are Highly Tolerant to Drought and NaCl Stress

“…Large tracts of salt affected and dry lands can be utilized for golf courses provided suitable high quality grasses are available with traits such as tolerance to drought and salt stress. Stable transformation of creeping bent grass via particle bombardment has been reported by Zhong et al (1993), Hartman et al (1999), Xiao and Ha (1997), Guo et al (2003) and Dai et al (2003). Only few reports on Agrobacterium-mediated transgenic turf grass are available (Zilinskas, 2001).…”

The Pokeweed Leaf mRNA Transcriptome and Its Regulation by Jasmonic Acid

“…The pokeweed transcriptome will enable further investigations into the robust defense strategies of this species and other Phytolaccaceae family members. Heterologous expression of PAP has already been applied successfully to produce virus resistant plants ( Lodge et al, 1993 ; Zoubenko et al, 1997 ; Wang et al, 1998 ; Dai et al, 2003 ). Pokeweed accumulates high levels of metal from contaminated soils but little is known about the genes mediating this tolerance ( Dou et al, 2009 ; Zhao et al, 2011 , 2012 ).…”

Which Plant Proteins Are Involved in Antiviral Defense? Review on In Vivo and In Vitro Activities of Selected Plant Proteins against Viruses

“…PAP was found to increase resistance of tobacco and potato plants to infection of different viruses transmitted by aphids and mechanical damage, such as Potato virus Y (PVY), Potato virus X (PVX), and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) [ 60 ]. However, when PAP expression levels were high, toxic effect in tobacco and in bentgrass plants was observed [ 60 , 107 ]. Similarly, trichosanthin conferred resistance to transgenic tobacco against Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) [ 65 ].…”