Open AccessExpression of a bacterial flagellin gene triggers plant immune responses and confers disease resistance in transgenic rice plants
Author(s) -
TAKAKURA YOSHIMITSU,
CHE FANGSIK,
ISHIDA YUJI,
TSUTSUMI FUMIKI,
KUROTANI KENICHI,
USAMI SATORU,
ISOGAI AKIRA,
IMASEKI HIDEMASA
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
molecular plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.945
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1364-3703
pISSN - 1464-6722
DOI - 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2008.00477.x
Subject(s) - flagellin , biology , genetically modified rice , transgene , microbiology and biotechnology , genetically modified crops , plant disease resistance , magnaporthe grisea , gene , oryza sativa , genetics
SUMMARY Flagellin is a component of bacterial flagella and acts as a proteinaceous elicitor of defence responses in organisms. Flagellin from a phytopathogenic bacterium, Acidovorax avenae strain N1141, induces immune responses in suspension‐cultured rice cells. To analyse the function of flagellin in rice, we fused the N1141 flagellin gene to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and introduced it into rice. Many of the resulting transgenic rice plants accumulated flagellin at various levels. The transgenic rice developed pale spots in the leaves. The expression of a defence‐related gene for phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase was induced in the transgenic plants, and H 2 O 2 production and cell death were observed in some plants with high levels of gene expression, suggesting that the flagellin triggers immune responses in the transgenic rice. Transgenic plants inoculated with Magnaporthe grisea , the causal agent of rice blast, showed enhanced resistance to blast, suggesting that the flagellin production confers disease resistance in the transgenic rice.