Enhanced resistance to stripe rust disease in transgenic wheat expressing the rice chitinase gene RC24

• Published in: Transgenic research 2013-10, Vol.22 (5), p.939-947
• Main Authors: Huang, Xuan, Wang, Jian, Du, Zhen, Zhang, Chen, Li, Lan, Xu, Ziqin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Basidiomycota; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology; Biotechnology; Blotting, Southern; China; Chitinases - genetics; Chitinases - metabolism; Disease Resistance - genetics; DNA Primers - genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Transfer Techniques; Genetic Engineering; Genetic technics; Life Sciences; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Molecular Medicine; Original Paper; Oryza - enzymology; Oryza - genetics; Oryza sativa; Plant Diseases - genetics; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Puccinia striiformis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Transgenic animals and transgenic plants; Transgenics; Triticum - genetics; Triticum - metabolism; Triticum aestivum
• ISSN: 0962-8819; 1573-9368
• DOI: 10.1007/s11248-013-9704-9

Stripe rust is a devastating fungal disease of wheat worldwide which is primarily caused by Puccinia striiformis f . sp tritici. Transgenic wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) expressing rice class chitinase gene RC24 were developed by particle bombardment of immature embryos and tested for resistance to Puccinia striiformis f.sp tritici. under greenhouse and field conditions. Putative transformants were selected on kanamycin-containing media. Polymease chain reaction indicated that RC24 was transferred into 17 transformants obtained from bombardment of 1,684 immature embryos. Integration of RC24 was confirmed by Southern blot with a RC24 -labeled probe and expression of RC24 was verified by RT-PCR. Nine transgenic T 1 lines exhibited enhanced resistance to stripe rust infection with lines XN8 and BF4 showing the highest level of resistance. Southern blot hybridization confirmed the stable inheritance of RC24 in transgenic T 1 plants. Resistance to stripe rust in transgenic T 2 and T 3 XN8 and BF4 plants was confirmed over two consecutive years in the field. Increased yield (27–36 %) was recorded for transgenic T 2 and T 3 XN8 and BF4 plants compared to controls. These results suggest that rice class I chitinase RC24 can be used to engineer stripe rust resistance in wheat.