Overexpression of bacterial katE gene improves the resistance of modified tomato plant against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield is severely affected by Fusarium fungal disease. To improve the resistance of tomato against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), Escherichia coli katE gene was transformed into two tomato cultivars, namely Castle Rock and Super strain B, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens; the transformation efficiency was 5.6% and 3.5%, respectively. The integration of the katE gene into T0, T1, and T2 transgenic tomato lines was confirmed using PCR. In addition, DNA dot blot technique confirmed the integration of the katE gene into T2 transgenic tomato lines. The RT-PCR analysis confirmed that the katE gene could be expressed normally in the T2 modified lines. Under artificial infection with FOL, the non-modified plants exhibited more severe fungal disease symptoms than those observed in katE overexpression (OE) lines. Our analysis showed that the levels of three defense enzymes, namely superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), were increased during transgenic T2 generation pre-treated with FOL. The bioassay of modified lines revealed that an average of 52.56% of the modified Castle Rock cultivar and 50.28% of the modified Super Strain B cultivar showed resistance under Fusarium infection. These results clearly indicate that the modified tomato plants, in which the katE gene was overexpressed, became more resistant to the infection by FOL than the wild-type plants. Our study has proven that the overexpression of the E. coli katE gene in the OE lines could be utilized to develop and improve the resistance against fungal diseases in the modified crops.

Molecular identification and genetic diversity among Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus isolates.

Five bacterial strains were isolated from the hemocoel of the greater wax moth larvae (Galleria mellonella) infected with the entomopathogenic nematodes: Heterorhabditis bacteriophora HP88, Heterorhabditis indicus RM1 and Heterorhabditis sp (S1), Steinernema abbasi and Steinernema sp. (S II). Strains were identified as Photorhabdus luminescens HRM1, P. luminescens HS1, P. luminescens HP88, Xenorhabdus indica and X. nematophila ATTC19061 using 16S rDNA sequence analysis. To reveal the genetic diversity among these strains, three molecular markers (RAPD, ISSR and SRAP) were employed. RAPD analysis showed 73.8 and 54.5 polymorphism percentages for the Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus strains, respectively. ISSR analysis resulted in 70.1 and 75.2 polymorphism percentages among the Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus strains, respectively. The SRAP analysis indicated that 75.6 and 61.2% genetic polymorphism was detected among Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus strains, respectively. The cluster analysis grouped the three Photorhabdus strains together in one cluster and the two Xenorhabdus strains together in another cluster indicating the phylogenetic relationships among them. The genotype-specific markers detected from the three molecular markers (RAPD, ISSR and SRAP) were sufficient to distinguish between the different bacterial strains tested and can be used in the future IBM program that could be built on the use of these strains.

An efficient and reproducible protocol for the production of salt tolerant transgenic wheat plants expressing the Arabidopsis AtNHX1 gene.

We present an efficient method for the production of transgenic salt tolerant hexaploid wheat plants expressing the Arabidopsis AtNHX1 gene. Wheat mature zygotic embryos were isolated from two hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars (namely: Gemmeiza 9 and Gemmeiza 10) and were transformed with the A. tumefaciens LBA4404 harboring the pBI-121 vector containing the AtNHX1 gene. Transgenic wheat lines that express the gus intron was obtained and used as control. The results confirmed that npt-II gene could be transmitted and expressed in the T2 following 3:1 Mendelian segregation while the control plant couldn't. The data indicate that, the AtNHX1 gene was integrated in a stable manner into the wheat genome and the corresponding transcripts were expressed. The transformation efficiency was 5.7 and 7.5% for cultivars Gemmeiza 10 and Gemmeiza 9, respectively. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of AtNHX1 gene in wheat salt tolerance. The transgenic wheat lines could maintain high growth rate under salt stress condition (350 mM NaCl) while the control plant couldn't. The results confirmed that Na(+)/H(+) antiporter gene AtNHX1 increased salt tolerance by increasing Na(+) accumulation and keeping K+/Na(+) balance. Thus, transgenic plants showed high tolerance to salt stress and can be considered as a new genetic resource in breeding programs.

Genetic diversity among some canola cultivars as revealed by RAPD, SSR and AFLP analyses.

To assess the genetic diversity among four canola cultivars (namely, Serw-3, Serw-4, Misser L-16 and Semu 249), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), simple sequence repeat polymorphism (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses were performed. The data indicated that all of the three molecular markers gave different levels of polymorphism. A total of 118, 31 and 338 markers that show 61, 67.7 and 81 % polymorphism percentages were resulted from the RAPD, SSR and AFLP analyses, respectively. Based on the data obtained the three markers can be used to differentiate between the four canola cultivars. The genotype-specific markers were determined, 18 out of the 72 polymorphic RAPD markers generated were found to be genotype-specific (25 %). The highest number of RAPD specific markers was scored for Semu 249 (15 markers), while Serw-4 scored two markers. On the other hand, Serw-3 scored one marker. The cultivar Semu 249 scored the highest number of unique AFLP markers, giving 57 unique markers, followed by Misser L-16 which was characterized by 40 unique AFLP markers, then Serw-3 giving 31 unique markers. While Serw-4 was characterized by the lowest number producing 14 unique positive markers. The dendrogram built on the basis of combined data from RAPD, SSR and AFLP analysis represents the genetic distances among the four canola cultivars. Understanding the genetic variability among the current canola cultivars opens up a possibility for developing a molecular genetic map that will lead to the application of marker-assisted selection tools in genetic improvement of canola.

Evaluation of salt tolerance in ectoine-transgenic tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) in terms of photosynthesis, osmotic adjustment, and carbon partitioning.

Ectoine is a common compatible solute in halophilic bacteria. Its biosynthesis originates from L-aspartate ß-semialdehyde and requires three enzymes: L-2, 4-diaminobutyric acid aminotransferase (gene: ect B), L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid acetyl transferase (gene: ect A) and L-ectoine synthase (gene: ect C). Genetically engineered tomato plants expressing the three H. elongata genes (ectA, ectB, and ectC) generated showed no phenotypic abnormality. Expression of the ectoine biosynthetic genes was detected in the T3 transgenic plants by Northern blot analysis. The ectoine accumulating T3 plants were evaluated for salt tolerance by examining their photosynthestic activity, osmotic adjustment and carbon partitioning. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) detected the accumulation of ectoine. The concentration of ectoine increased with increasing salinity. The transgenic lines showed higher activities of peroxidase, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration was decreased under salinity stress condition. In addition, preservation of higher rates of photosynthesis and turgor values as compared to control was evident. Within a week of ( 13) CO 2 feeding, salt application led to increases in the partitioning of ( 13) C into roots at the expense of ( 13) C in the other plant parts. These results suggest that under saline conditions ectoine synthesis is promoted in the roots of transgenic plants, leading to an acceleration of sink activity for photosynthate in the roots. Subsequently, root function such as water uptake is improved, compared with wild-type plants. In this way, the photosynthetic rate is increased through enhancement of cell membrane stability in oxidative conditions under salt stress.

Genetic transformation of mature embryos of bread (T. aestivum) and pasta (T. durum) wheat genotypes.

The objective of the present study is to develop an efficient protocol for regeneration of transgenic wheat plants using Agrobacterium- mediated transformation of mature embryos of hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and tetraploid pasta wheat (Triticum durum). The data indicated that embryogenic calli were formed within 7 days in the presence of 2 mgl-1 2,4-D. Adventitious shoots emerged from the embryonic calli in the presence of 2 mgl-1 BA. Shoot regeneration frequency varied between wheat cultivars according to their genetic background differences. Regeneration frequency was higher in the cultivar Gemmiza 10 (95 %) compared with the other cultivars tested. Mature embryos derived callus of the cultivars Gemmiza 10 and Gemmiza 9 were co-cultivated with A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector pBI-121 containing the neomycin phosphotransferase-II gene (npt-II). The resulted putative transgenic plantlets were able to grow on kanamycin containing medium. A successful integration of the transgene was confirmed by analyzing the T0 plantlets using Southern hybridization and PCR amplification. The gus gene expression can be detected only in the transgenic plants. The reported protocol is reproducible and can be used to regenerate transgenic wheat plants expressing the genes present in A. tumifaciens binary vectors.

Transgenic rice plants expressing cry1Ia5 gene are resistant to stem borer (Chilo agamemnon).

The stem borer, Chilo agamemnon Bles., is the most serious insect pest in rice fields of the Egyptian Nile Delta. To induce rice plant resistance to Chilo agamemnon, the cry1Ia5 gene was introduced to rice plants (Oryza sativa L.). The integration of the cry1Ia5 gene into the plant genome was confirmed using PCR and Southern blot analyses. The obtained plantlets were transferred to the greenhouse until seeds were collected. Northern blot analysis of the T1 plants confirmed the expression of the cry1Ia5 gene. The insecticidal activity of the transgenic plants against the rice stem borer Chilo agamemnon were tested. The third larval instars were fed on stem cuts from three transgenic lines (L1, L2 and L3) as well as cuts from the control (gfp-transgenic) plants for one week and the mortality percentage was daily recorded. Transgenic line-3 showed the highest mortality percentage after one day (50%) followed by L2 (25%) then L1 (0%). Two days post treatment the mortality percentage increased to 70, 45 and 25% for transgenic lines 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Mortality of 100% was recorded four days post treatment, while those fed on the gfp-transgenic rice (control) showed 0% mortality. Thus, transgenic plants showed high resistance to stem borers and can serve as a novel genetic resource in breeding programs. Transgenic plants expressing BT protein were normal in phenotype with as good seed setting as the nontransgenic control plants.

Shoot regeneration from GUS-transformed tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) hairy root.

To study the influence of genetic background on the transformation and regeneration of cultivated tomato plants, hairy root lines of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) were obtained by inoculating the hypocotyl explants of three tomato cultivars with the Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain DCAR-2, which harbors the pBI-121 binary vector. The Ri-T-DNA transformation into the plant DNA was confirmed by both of mikimopine and GUS assay analyses. The regeneration efficiency from hairy root explants was assessed. The data indicated that white embryonic calli were formed within two weeks in the presence of 2 mgl(-1) 2, 4-D plus 0.25 mgl(-1) kinetin. Adventitious shoots emerged from the embryonic callus in the presence of 1 mgl(-1) GA3 along with 0.5 mgl(-1) NAA. The regeneration frequency was higher in the cultivar UC-97, followed by Momotaro and then Edkawi. Molecular confirmation of the integration of the GUS gene into the hairy root-derived plants genomes was done via PCR using GUS-specific primers and also using Southern blotting analysis. Our data shows that regeneration is possible from hairy roots of the cultivated tomato and this system could be used to produce transgenic tomato plants expressing the genes present in Agrobacterium rhizogenes binary vectors.