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Control of Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production in transgenic maize kernels expressing a tachyplesin-derived synthetic peptide, AGM182.
Rajasekaran, Kanniah; Sayler, Ronald J; Sickler, Christine M; Majumdar, Rajtilak; Jaynes, Jesse M; Cary, Jeffrey W.
Afiliación
  • Rajasekaran K; Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States. Electronic address: kanniah.rajasekaran@ars.usda.gov.
  • Sayler RJ; Department of Plant Pathology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, United States.
  • Sickler CM; Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States.
  • Majumdar R; Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States.
  • Jaynes JM; College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, United States.
  • Cary JW; Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States.
Plant Sci ; 270: 150-156, 2018 May.
Article en En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29576068
ABSTRACT
Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic, saprophytic fungus that infects maize and other fatty acid-rich food and feed crops and produces toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites known as aflatoxins. Contamination of maize with aflatoxin poses a serious threat to human health in addition to reducing the crop value leading to a substantial economic loss. Here we report designing a tachyplesin1-derived synthetic peptide AGM182 and testing its antifungal activity both in vitro and in planta. In vitro studies showed a five-fold increase in antifungal activity of AGM182 (vs. tachyplesin1) against A. flavus. Transgenic maize plants expressing AGM182 under maize Ubiquitin-1 promoter were produced through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. PCR products confirmed integration of the AGM182 gene, while RT-PCR of maize RNA confirmed the presence of AGM182 transcripts. Maize kernel screening assay using a highly aflatoxigenic A. flavus strain (AF70) showed up to 72% reduction in fungal growth in the transgenic AGM182 seeds compared to isogenic negative control seeds. Reduced fungal growth in the AGM182 transgenic seeds resulted in a significant reduction in aflatoxin levels (76-98%). The results presented here show the power of computational and synthetic biology to rationally design and synthesize an antimicrobial peptide against A. flavus that is effective in reducing fungal growth and aflatoxin contamination in an economically important food and feed crop such as maize.
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Texto completo: 1 Colección: 01-internacional Banco de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Péptidos Cíclicos / Enfermedades de las Plantas / Aspergillus flavus / Zea mays / Aflatoxinas / Péptidos Catiónicos Antimicrobianos / Proteínas de Unión al ADN / Antifúngicos Idioma: En Revista: Plant Sci Año: 2018 Tipo del documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Colección: 01-internacional Banco de datos: MEDLINE Asunto principal: Péptidos Cíclicos / Enfermedades de las Plantas / Aspergillus flavus / Zea mays / Aflatoxinas / Péptidos Catiónicos Antimicrobianos / Proteínas de Unión al ADN / Antifúngicos Idioma: En Revista: Plant Sci Año: 2018 Tipo del documento: Article