Purification and characterization of a CkTLP protein from Cynanchum komarovii seeds that confers antifungal activity

• Published in: PloS one 2011-02, Vol.6 (2), p.e16930-e16930
• Main Authors: Wang, Qinghua, Li, Fuguang, Zhang, Xue, Zhang, Yongan, Hou, Yuxia, Zhang, Shengrui, Wu, Zhixia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Acids; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Amino acid sequence; Amino acids; Analgesics; Antifungal activity; Antifungal agents; Antifungal Agents - analysis; Antifungal Agents - isolation & purification; Antifungal Agents - metabolism; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - immunology; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biology; Castanopsis; Cell walls; Cholecystitis; Chromatography; Cloning, Molecular; Cotton; Cotyledons; Crystal structure; Cynanchum; Cynanchum - chemistry; Cynanchum - genetics; Cynanchum - metabolism; Desert plants; Deserts; Development and progression; DNA, Complementary - analysis; DNA, Complementary - isolation & purification; Drought; Drugs; Fruits; Fungi; Fungicides; Fusarium; Fusarium oxysporum; Fusion protein; Gene expression; Genetic engineering; Genetic Therapy; Herbal medicine; Homology; Hydrophobicity; Immunity, Innate - genetics; Jasmonic acid; Kinases; Legumes; Methyl jasmonate; Mycoses - genetics; Mycoses - immunology; Mycoses - prevention & control; Overexpression; Pathogenesis; Pathogens; Pesticides; Pharmacology; Plant Diseases - genetics; Plant Diseases - prevention & control; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - genetics; Plant Proteins - analysis; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - isolation & purification; Plant tissues; Plants, Genetically Modified; Polymerase chain reaction; Protein purification; Proteins; Salicylic acid; Science; Seeds; Seeds - chemistry; Seeds - genetics; Seeds - metabolism; Sodium chloride; Stress, Physiological - genetics; Thaumatin; Thaumatin-like proteins; Tissues; Tobacco; Transcription; Trichomes; Verticillium - physiology; Verticillium dahliae
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016930

Cynanchum komarovii Al Iljinski is a desert plant that has been used as analgesic, anthelminthic and antidiarrheal, but also as a herbal medicine to treat cholecystitis in people. We have found that the protein extractions from C. komarovii seeds have strong antifungal activity. There is strong interest to develop protein medication and antifungal pesticides from C. komarovii for pharmacological or other uses. An antifungal protein with sequence homology to thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) was isolated from C. komarovii seeds and named CkTLP. The three-dimensional structure prediction of CkTLP indicated the protein has an acid cleft and a hydrophobic patch. The protein showed antifungal activity against fungal growth of Verticillium dahliae, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea and Valsa mali. The full-length cDNA was cloned by RT-PCR and RACE-PCR according to the partial protein sequences obtained by nanoESI-MS/MS. The real-time PCR showed the transcription level of CkTLP had a significant increase under the stress of abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), NaCl and drought, which indicates that CkTLP may play an important role in response to abiotic stresses. Histochemical staining showed GUS activity in almost the whole plant, especially in cotyledons, trichomes and vascular tissues of primary root and inflorescences. The CkTLP protein was located in the extracellular space/cell wall by CkTLP::GFP fusion protein in transgenic Arabidopsis. Furthermore, over-expression of CkTLP significantly enhanced the resistance of Arabidopsis against V. dahliae. The results suggest that the CkTLP is a good candidate protein or gene for contributing to the development of disease-resistant crops.