А wheat phytocystatin increase resistance to Fusarium oxysporum of а model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

Petya K. Christova, Nikolai K. Christov, Ryozo Imai, Rossitza B. Batchvarova

Abstract: Antifungal activities of the wheat cystatin TaMDC1 were analyzed by a heterologous expression of the protein in a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The floral buds of Arabidopsis, ecotype Columbia, were transformed in vivo by Agrobacterium tumefaciens using a “Floral dip” method. The putative transformed seeds were selected on MS media supplemented with kanamycin. The integration of the TaMDC1 gene was proved in T1 plants by PCR analyses. Segregation of the gene in T2 and T3 generations was analyzed and homozygous Arabidopsis lines with а single copy of the TaMDC1 gene were selected. Antifungal activities of the TaMDC1 were evaluated by inoculation of plants from selected Arabidopsis lines with phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium оxysporum. All tested lines were more resistant to the pathogen compared to the wild type A. thaliana. The highest resistance to inoculation with F. оxysporum was shown by the lines Cys 9-3-4, Cys 14-2-5 and Cys 18-6-3.

Keywords: antifungal activity; Arabidopsis; cystatin; phytopathogenic fungus; TaMDC1

Date published: 2018-07-12