Open AccessResistance Enhancement of Transgenic Tomato to Bacterial Pathogens by the Heterologous Expression of Sweet Pepper Ferredoxin-I Protein
Author(s) -
HengTsung Danny Huang,
Chien-An Liu,
Mei-Jiuan Lee,
C-George Kuo,
Huei-Mei Chen,
MangJye Ger,
YuChih Tsai,
YenRu Chen,
Ming-Kun Lin,
Tao Feng
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
phytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.264
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1943-7684
pISSN - 0031-949X
DOI - 10.1094/phyto-97-8-0900
Subject(s) - ralstonia solanacearum , bacterial wilt , biology , pepper , plant disease resistance , genetically modified tomato , genetically modified crops , microbiology and biotechnology , lycopersicon , bacterial disease , transgene , solanaceae , pathogen , botany , horticulture , gene , genetics
Expression of a foreign gene to enhance plant disease resistance to bacterial pathogens is a favorable strategy. It has been demonstrated that expressing sweet pepper ferredoxin-I protein (PFLP) in transgenic plants can enhance disease resistance to bacterial pathogens that infect leaf tissue. In this study, PFLP was applied to protect tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. cherry Cln1558a) from the root-infecting pathogen, Ralstonia solanacearum. Independent R. solanacearum resistant T 1 lines were selected and bred to produce homozygous T 2 generations. Selected T 2 transgenic lines 24-18-7 and 26-2-1a, which showed high expression levels of PFLP in root tissue, were resistant to disease caused by R. solanacearum. In contrast, the transgenic line 23-17-1b and nontransgenic tomato, which showed low expression levels of PFLP in root tissue, were not resistant to R. solanacearum infection. The expansion of R. solanacearum populations in stem tissue of transgenic tomato line 24-18-7 was limited compared with the nontransgenic tomato Cln1558a. Using a detached leaf assay, transgenic line 24-18-7 was also resistant to maceration caused by E. carotovora subsp. carotovora; however, resistance to E. carotovora subsp. carotovora was less apparent in transgenic lines 26-2-1a and 23-17-1b. These results demonstrate that PFLP is able to enhance disease resistance at different levels to bacterial pathogens in individual tissue of transgenic tomato.