Dataset Information

Insect peptide metchnikowin confers on barley a selective capacity for resistance to fungal ascomycetes pathogens.

ABSTRACT: The potential of metchnikowin, a 26-amino acid residue proline-rich antimicrobial peptide synthesized in the fat body of Drosophila melanogaster was explored to engineer disease resistance in barley against devastating fungal plant pathogens. The synthetic peptide caused strong in vitro growth inhibition (IC(50) value approximately 1 muM) of the pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. Transgenic barley expressing the metchnikowin gene in its 52-amino acid pre-pro-peptide form under the control of the inducible mannopine synthase (mas) gene promoter from the T(i) plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens displayed enhanced resistance to powdery mildew as well as Fusarium head blight and root rot. In response to these pathogens, metchnikowin accumulated in plant apoplastic space, specifying that the insect signal peptide is functional in monocotyledons. In vitro and in vivo tests revealed that the peptide is markedly effective against fungal pathogens of the phylum Ascomycota but, clearly, less active against Basidiomycota fungi. Importantly, germination of the mutualistic basidiomycete mycorrhizal fungus Piriformospora indica was affected only at concentrations beyond 50 muM. These results suggest that antifungal peptides from insects are a valuable source for crop plant improvements and their differential activities toward different phyla of fungi denote a capacity for insect peptides to be used as selective measures on specific plant diseases.

SUBMITTER: Rahnamaeian M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2755027 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Insect peptide metchnikowin confers on barley a selective capacity for resistance to fungal ascomycetes pathogens.

Rahnamaeian Mohammad M Langen Gregor G Imani Jafargholi J Khalifa Walaa W Altincicek Boran B von Wettstein Diter D Kogel Karl-Heinz KH Vilcinskas Andreas A

Journal of experimental botany 20090904 14

The potential of metchnikowin, a 26-amino acid residue proline-rich antimicrobial peptide synthesized in the fat body of Drosophila melanogaster was explored to engineer disease resistance in barley against devastating fungal plant pathogens. The synthetic peptide caused strong in vitro growth inhibition (IC(50) value approximately 1 muM) of the pathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum. Transgenic barley expressing the metchnikowin gene in its 52-amino acid pre-pro-peptide form under the control o ...[more]

PMID: 19734262

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionCadmium (Cd) is one of the most detrimental heavy metal pollutants, seriously affecting crop production and human health. Nucleobase-ascorbic acid transporters (NAT) are widely present in many living organisms including plants, animals and microbes; however, the role of NAT in plant Cd tolerance remains unknown.ObjectivesTo identify Cd-induced miRNAs that target HvNAT2 and to determine the role of this gene and its product in Cd tolerance.MethodsHigh-throughput-sequencing was used to identify the miRNA expression profile of barley roots in response to Cd stress. Overexpression (OX) and RNAi lines were then constructed for HvNAT2 and comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed to determine the function of this transporter examining its effects on traits such as Cd uptake/flux and translocation, morphology and antioxidant capacity in relation to Cd tolerance. In addition, phylogenetic analysis was performed to obtain insights into the evolution of HvNAT2.ResultsCd stress-induced genome-wide expression profiles of miRNAs identified a Cd-induced miRNA, miR156g-3p_3, that had HvNAT2 as its target. HvNAT2 was negatively regulated in the high-Cd-accumulating and Cd-tolerant genotype Zhenong8. Evolutionary analysis indicated that orthologues of the plasma membrane localized, HvNAT2, can be traced back to the sister group of land plants, the streptophyte algae. Overexpression of HvNAT2 increases Cd tolerance with higher tissue Cd accumulation but less oxidative damage in transgenic barley plants. RNAi of HvNAT2 leads to a significant reduction of Cd tolerance. The higher Cd accumulation in roots of the OX3 line was also demonstrated by confocal microscopy and electrophysiology. Transcriptome analysis showed that the enhancement of antioxidant capacity by HvNAT2 was related to stress signaling pathways. Furthermore, oxidative stress tolerance in HvNAT2-OX plants was regulated by the synthesis of phytochelatins and the glutathione metabolism cycle.ConclusionOur study reveals a key molecular mechanism of NAT in Cd tolerance in plants that is useful for sustainable agricultural production and management of hazardous this heavy metal for better environment management and ecosystem function.

Dataset Information

Insect peptide metchnikowin confers on barley a selective capacity for resistance to fungal ascomycetes pathogens.

Publications

Insect peptide metchnikowin confers on barley a selective capacity for resistance to fungal ascomycetes pathogens.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets