Defensin TvD1 from Emphasis Type="Italic"Tephr

Authors: S Vijayan N K Singh P Shukla P B Kirti

Publish Date: 2012/11/03

Volume: 86, Issue: 2, Pages: 337-344

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Abstract

Plant defensin is a small cationic cysteinerich broadspectrum antimicrobial peptide with four or five disulfide bridges and has been shown to be a component of the innate immunity system in plants In the present study the defensin gene TvD1 from Tephrosia villosa was overexpressed in tobacco and characterized Two highexpression T1 T26 and one lowexpression T13 plant lines were selected through semiquantitative RTPCR and used for bioassays along with nontransgenic controls The highexpression plant line exhibited strong in vivo antifungal and antifeedant activity against the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani and the first and second instar larvae of the Spodoptera litura F the tobacco cutworm respectively The lowexpression plant line showed a moderate level of tolerance/resistance in the bioassays The recombinant peptide rTvD1 exhibited toxicity to tobacco pollen grains in the germination assay but transgenic plants produced copious fertile pollen and set capsules with viable seeds The results of this study demonstrate that the single gene TvD1 effectively controls both fungal and insect pests and hence it can be used for crop transformationSV thank the University Grants Commission Government of India for the award of a research fellowship during the tenure of which the investigation was carried out The authors thank the Head Department of Plant Sciences University of Hyderabad for facilities under DSTFIST UGCCAS etc SV thank Dr T Ganesan Department of Botany Tagore Arts College Puducherry India for providing the fungus R solani

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