Engineered detoxification confers resistance against a pathogenic bacterium
Lianhui Zhang1, 2, Jingling Xu1, 2
& Robert G. Birch1
1
Department of Botany, The University of Queensland
, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
2
Current address: Institute for Molecular Agrobiology,
The University of Singapore 117604 Singapore.
Correspondence should be addressed to Robert G. Birch r.birch@botany.uq.edu.audisease resistanceantipathogenesistransgenic plantssugarcanealbicidin detoxification
We generated transgenic sugarcane plants that express an albicidin detoxifying
gene (albD), which was cloned from a bacterium that provides biocontrol
against leaf scald disease. Plants with albicidin detoxification capacity
equivalent to 1−10 ng of AlbD enzyme per mg of leaf protein did not
develop chlorotic disease symptoms in inoculated leaves, whereas all untransformed
control plants developed severe symptoms. Transgenic lines with high AlbD
activity in young stems were also protected against systemic multiplication
of the pathogen, which is the precursor to economic disease. We have shown
that genetic modification to express a toxin-resistance gene can confer resistance
to both disease symptoms and multiplication of a toxigenic pathogen in its
host.
