High Resistance of Potato to Early Blight Is Achieved by Expression of the Pro-SmAMP1 Gene for Hevein-Like Antimicrobial Peptides from Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Abstract

In the common chickweed Stellaria media, two antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), SmAMP1.1a and SmAMP1.2a, have been shown to be proteolytically released as products of the expression of a single gene, proSmAMP1. In this study, the gene proSmAMP1 was introduced into two potato varieties, Zhukovsky ranny and Udacha. These early-maturing varieties were shown to be susceptible to early blight caused by Alternaria spp. Most transgenic lines of either variety having strong expression of the target gene demonstrated high levels of resistance to Alternaria spp. during three years of cultivation, but did not otherwise differ from the initial varieties. Disease severity index (DSI) was introduced as a complex measure of plant susceptibility to early blight, taking into account the diameter of lesions caused by the Alternaria spp., the fungus sporulation intensity and its incubation period duration. Across all transgenic lines, the DSI inversely correlated both with the target gene expression and the copy number in the plant genome. Our results are promising for improving the resistance of potato and other crops to early blight by expression of AMPs from wild plants.

Karadeniz Bölgesinde yetişen bazı yenilebilir yabani otlar ve biyoaktif özellikleri

“…Ilıman iklimlerde yetişen bitki, Avrupa, Kuzey Amerika ve Asya'da dağılım göstermektedir (47). "Civciv otu" veya "kuş otu" olarak bilinmekte olan bitki, fenolik asitler, flavonoidler, alkaloidler, saponinler, yağ asitleri, kardiyak glikozitler, terpenoidler ve tanenler gibi çeşitli bileşiklere sahiptir (48,49). Çiğ olarak salatalar şeklinde tüketilmekte olan bitki, halk hekimliğinde kızamık, gastrointestinal bozukluklar, ishal, sindirim, böbrek, üreme ve solunum yolları iltihabının tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır (49).…”

Plants, Cells, Algae, and Cyanobacteria In Vitro and Cryobank Collections at the Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences—A Platform for Research and Production Center

“…These clones express the Pro-SmAMP1 gene derived from Stellaria media , a weed plant that is used in human and animal diets in several countries [ 114 ]. All transgenic lines were annually screened for resistance to early blight ( Alternaria solani and A. alternata ) [ 110 ]. All the lines have been preserving the blight resistance trait for ten years and have been returned to the Russian Potato Research Centre for further research.…”

Identification and functional analysis of protein secreted by Alternaria solani

“…Alternaria solani is a necrotrophic fungus that can cause early blight disease of tomato, potato, tobacco, and many other vegetables and crops, and lead to huge losses in agricultural production [1][2][3]. The typical symptoms are dark brown to black lesions with concentric rings on the leaves, which can cause browning and abscission in severe cases.…”