Stepwise artificial evolution of a plant disease resistance gene.

ABSTRACT: Genes encoding plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins confer dominant resistance to diverse pathogens. The wild-type potato NB-LRR protein Rx confers resistance against a single strain of potato virus X (PVX), whereas LRR mutants protect against both a second PVX strain and the distantly related poplar mosaic virus (PopMV). In one of the Rx mutants there was a cost to the broad-spectrum resistance because the response to PopMV was transformed from a mild disease on plants carrying wild-type Rx to a trailing necrosis that killed the plant. To explore the use of secondary mutagenesis to eliminate this cost of broad-spectrum resistance, we performed random mutagenesis of the N-terminal domains of this broad-recognition version of Rx and isolated four mutants with a str

SUBMITTER: Harris CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3876221 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature