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Overproduction of salicylic acid in plants by bacterial transgenes enhances pathogen resistance

Abstract

After a hypersensitive response to invading pathogens, plants show elevated accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), induced expression of plant defense genes, and systemic acquired resistance (SAR) to further infection by a broad range of pathogens. There is compelling evidence that SA plays a crucial role in triggering SAR. We have transformed tobacco with two bacterial genes coding for enzymes that convert chorismate into SA by a two-step process. When the two enzymes were targeted to the chloroplasts, the transgenic (CSA, constitutive SA biosynthesis) plants showed a 500- to 1,000-fold increased accumulation of SA and SA glucoside compared to control plants. Defense genes, particularly those encoding acidic pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, were constitutively expressed in CSA plants. This expression did not affect the plant phenotype, but the CSA plants showed a resistance to viral and fungal infection resembling SAR in nontransgenic plants.

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Figure 1: Schematic presentation of constructs used for plant transformation.
Figure 2: PR gene expression in plants expressing ICS and IPL enzymes.
Figure 3: Effect of constitutive SA synthesis in plants on TMV lesion size.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank T. Luijendijk for assistance in SA-analysis and Dr. J. Hermans for his help with the statistical analysis of lesion sizes. Zeneca-Mogen is acknowledged for providing the fungus O. lycopersicon. This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fishery in the framework of a research program of the Association of Biotechnology Centres in the Netherlands (ABON), and by the van Leersum fund.

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Correspondence to Huub J.M. Linthorst.

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Verberne, M., Verpoorte, R., Bol, J. et al. Overproduction of salicylic acid in plants by bacterial transgenes enhances pathogen resistance. Nat Biotechnol 18, 779–783 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/77347

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