Overexpression of bacterial katE gene improves the resistance of modified tomato plant against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield is severely affected by Fusarium fungal disease. To improve the resistance of tomato against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), Escherichia coli katE gene was transformed into two tomato cultivars, namely Castle Rock and Super strain B, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens; the transformation efficiency was 5.6% and 3.5%, respectively. The integration of the katE gene into T 0 , T 1 , and T 2 transgenic tomato lines was confirmed using PCR. In addition, DNA dot blot technique confirmed the integration of the katE gene into T 2 transgenic tomato lines. The RT-PCR analysis confirmed that the katE gene could be expressed normally in the T 2 modified lines. Under artificial infection with FOL, the non-modified plants exhibited more severe fungal disease symptoms than those observed in katE overexpression (OE) lines. Our analysis showed that the levels of three defense enzymes, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), were increased during transgenic T 2 generation pre-treated with FOL. The bioassay of modified lines revealed that an average of 52.56% of the modified Castle Rock cultivar and 50.28% of the modified Super Strain B cultivar showed resistance under Fusarium infection. These results clearly indicate that the modified tomato plants, in which the katE gene was overexpressed, became more resistant to the infection by FOL than the wild-type plants. Our study has proven that the overexpression of the E. coli katE gene in the OE lines could be utilized to develop and improve the resistance against fungal diseases in the modified crops.

Unraveling the functional genes present in rhizosphere microbiomes of Solanum lycopersicum

“…KatE gene helps to detoxify endogenous or xenobiotic compounds and also contributes to oxidative stress metabolism in plants. It contributes to the improvement of resistance against various phytopathogens like Fusarium oxysporum , and Escherichia coli on tomato fruits ( Moghaieb et al, 2021 ). CspB genes were abundant in HR in this study where they prevent various stresses on the tomato plant.…”

Overexpression of chalcone isomerase A gene in Astragalus trigonus for stimulating apigenin

“…Thereafter, the explants were blotted on a sterilized filter paper, placed onto a co-cultivation media (MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l 2, 4-D) and were incubated under dark conditions 52 . After co-cultivation for three days, the transformed calli were transferred to MS media including 0.5 mg/l NAA, 0.5 mg/l BAP, 500 mg/l cefotaxime and 1.5 mg/l bialaphos (Sigma-Aldrich, Japan) to select the transformed calli for shoot induction 53 . Elongated shoots were successfully rooted in MS media supplemented with 1.0 mg/l NAA 15 , and incubated at 25 °C under 16/8-h light/dark photoperiodic regime (1000-Lux).…”

Identifying a promising inhibitor of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici, Secreted in Xylem 1 protein

“…Though several abiotic factors including temperature, pH and the microenvironment in the soil can affect the e ciency of biocontrol agents to prevent FOL [18]. Transgenic tomato plant overexpressing E.coli katE gene which encodes for a monofunctional catalase, is resistant to FOL [19]. Tomato plants transgenically expressing Medicago defensin, which is cysteine rich peptide, is resistant to FOL [20].…”