Back to Search
Start Over
Host-induced silencing of essential genes in Puccinia triticina through transgenic expression of RNAi sequences reduces severity of leaf rust infection in wheat
- Source :
- Plant Biotechnology Journal
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Summary Leaf rust, caused by the pathogenic fungus Puccinia triticina (Pt), is one of the most serious biotic threats to sustainable wheat production worldwide. This obligate biotrophic pathogen is prevalent worldwide and is known for rapid adaptive evolution to overcome resistant wheat varieties. Novel disease control approaches are therefore required to minimize the yield losses caused by Pt. Having shown previously the potential of host‐delivered RNA interference (HD‐RNAi) in functional screening of Pt genes involved in pathogenesis, we here evaluated the use of this technology in transgenic wheat plants as a method to achieve protection against wheat leaf rust (WLR) infection. Stable expression of hairpin RNAi constructs with sequence homology to Pt MAP‐kinase (PtMAPK1) or a cyclophilin (PtCYC1) encoding gene in susceptible wheat plants showed efficient silencing of the corresponding genes in the interacting fungus resulting in disease resistance throughout the T2 generation. Inhibition of Pt proliferation in transgenic lines by in planta‐induced RNAi was associated with significant reduction in target fungal transcript abundance and reduced fungal biomass accumulation in highly resistant plants. Disease protection was correlated with the presence of siRNA molecules specific to targeted fungal genes in the transgenic lines harbouring the complementary HD‐RNAi construct. This work demonstrates that generating transgenic wheat plants expressing RNAi‐inducing transgenes to silence essential genes in rust fungi can provide effective disease resistance, thus opening an alternative way for developing rust‐resistant crops.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Transgene
Genes, Fungal
Rust (fungus)
rust resistance
Gene Expression
host‐induced gene silencing
Plant Science
Plant disease resistance
01 natural sciences
03 medical and health sciences
Wheat leaf rust
RNA interference
wheat leaf rust
Botany
Gene silencing
RNA, Small Interfering
Gene
Triticum
Research Articles
Disease Resistance
Plant Diseases
Genetics
Genes, Essential
biology
Basidiomycota
fungi
food and beverages
Puccinia triticina
Pathogenic fungus
biology.organism_classification
Plants, Genetically Modified
030104 developmental biology
RNAi
RNA Interference
transgenic wheat
Agronomy and Crop Science
010606 plant biology & botany
Biotechnology
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14677652
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Plant biotechnology journal
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....9c78d7a55e815d35df614790f520d0c4