Field Performance of Transgenic Sugarcane Lines Resistant to Sugarcane Mosaic Virus

Abstract

Sugarcane mosaic disease is mainly caused by the sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), which can significantly reduce stalk yield and sucrose content of sugarcane in the field. Coat protein mediated protection (CPMP) is an effective strategy to improve virus resistance. A 2-year field study was conducted to compare five independent transgenic sugarcane lines carrying the SCMV-CP gene (i.e., B2, B36, B38, B48, and B51) with the wild-type parental clone Badila (WT). Agronomic performance, resistance to SCMV infection, and transgene stability were evaluated and compared with the wild-type parental clone Badila (WT) at four experimental locations in China across two successive seasons, i.e., plant cane (PC) and 1st ratoon cane (1R). All transgenic lines derived from Badila had significantly greater tons of cane per hectare (TCH) and tons of sucrose per hectare (TSH) as well as lower SCMV disease incidence than those from Badila in the PC and 1R crops. The transgenic line B48 was highly resistant to SCMV with less than 3% incidence of infection. The recovery phenotype of transgenic line B36 was infected soon after virus inoculation, but the subsequent leaves showed no symptoms of infection. Most control plants developed symptoms that persisted and spread throughout the plant with more than 50% incidence. B48 recorded an average of 102.72 t/ha, which was 67.2% more than that for Badila. The expression of the transgene was stable over many generations with vegetative propagation. These results show that SCMV-resistant transgenic lines derived from Badila can provide resistant germplasm for sugarcane breeding and can also be used to study virus resistance mechanisms. This is the first report on the development and field performance of transgenic sugarcane plants that are resistant to SCMV infection in China.

Development of Allergenicity and Toxicity Assessment Methods for Evaluating Transgenic Sugarcane Overexpressing Sucrose–Phosphate Synthase

“…Sugarcane is a major crop that produces sugar in tropical regions, and transgenic sugarcane has been recently developed for drought stress tolerance [9,10], pest resistance [11,12], virus resistant [13,14], and increased crop yield by introducing a gene for sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 2.4.1.14) (under review). Several tests for allergenicity and toxicity have to be evaluated in transgenic sugarcane overexpressing gene SPS, since there is no report for the evaluation in transgenic sugarcane.…”

Selective Interaction of Sugarcane eIF4E with VPgs from Sugarcane Mosaic Pathogens

“…is the most important sugar and energy crop worldwide [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Sugarcane mosaic disease is widespread in sugarcane-growing countries [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] and causes heavy yield losses [ 16 , 17 ]. In the 1920s, sugarcane mosaic disease almost collapsed the sugar industry in Argentina, Brazil, and Louisiana [ 18 ].…”

“…In the 1920s, sugarcane mosaic disease almost collapsed the sugar industry in Argentina, Brazil, and Louisiana [ 18 ]. Although sugarcane mosaic disease is controlled by planting resistant sugarcane cultivars, it continues to be a threat to the sugarcane industry [ 4 , 15 , 17 , 19 ]. The main causal agents for the sugarcane mosaic disease are Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV), and Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV), which belong to the Potyviridae family, with SCMV and SrMV being members of the Potyvirus genus [ 20 ], whereas SCSMV is a member of Poacevirus genus [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Gene expression profiling of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense system following Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) infection

“…Previously, we have developed transgenic sugarcane lines through particle bombardment of coat protein (CP) of SCMV strain E, named as B-48. Transgenic B-48 lines were highly resistant against SCMV infection, with higher photosynthetic activity [ 19 ]. In the current study, we compared wild type (Badila) and transgenic (B-48) genotypes to understand the regulation of defense response at the transcriptional and enzymatic level.…”