Constitutive expression of transgenes encoding derivatives of the synthetic antimicrobial peptide BP100: impact on rice host plant fitness
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2013-02-19T15:46:25Z
dc.date.available
2013-02-19T15:46:25Z
dc.date.issued
2012
dc.identifier.issn
1471-2229
dc.identifier.uri
dc.description.abstract
The Biopeptide BP100 is a synthetic and strongly cationic α-helical undecapeptide with high, specific antibacterial activity against economically important plant-pathogenic bacteria, and very low toxicity. It was selected from a library of synthetic peptides, along with other peptides with activities against relevant bacterial and fungal species. Expression of the BP100 series of peptides in plants is of major interest to establish disease-resistant plants and facilitate molecular farming. Specific challenges were the small length, peptide degradation by plant proteases and toxicity to the host plant. Here we approached the expression of the BP100 peptide series in plants using BP100 as a proof-of-concept. Results: Our design considered up to three tandemly arranged BP100 units and peptide accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), analyzing five BP100 derivatives. The ER retention sequence did not reduce the antimicrobial activity of chemically synthesized BP100 derivatives, making this strategy possible. Transformation with sequences encoding BP100 derivatives (bp100der) was over ten-fold less efficient than that of the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hptII) transgene. The BP100 direct tandems did not show higher antimicrobial activity than BP100, and genetically modified (GM) plants constitutively expressing them were not viable. In contrast, inverted repeats of BP100, whether or not elongated with a portion of a natural antimicrobial peptide (AMP), had higher antimicrobial activity, and fertile GM rice lines constitutively expressing bp100der were produced. These GM lines had increased resistance to the pathogens Dickeya chrysanthemi and Fusarium verticillioides, and tolerance to oxidative stress, with agronomic performance comparable to untransformed lines. Conclusions: Constitutive expression of transgenes encoding short cationic α-helical synthetic peptides can have a strong negative impact on rice fitness. However, GM plants expressing, for example, BP100 based on inverted repeats, have adequate agronomic performance and resistant phenotypes as a result of a complex equilibrium between bp100der toxicity to plant cells, antimicrobial activity and transgene-derived plant stress response. It is likely that these results can be extended to other peptides with similar characteristics
dc.description.sponsorship
This work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (projects AGL2010-17181/AGR and PLANT-KBBE EUI2008-03769) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (SGR-2009-12)
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
BioMed Central
dc.relation
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN//AGL2010-17181/ES/EFECTOS NO INTENCIONADOS DE TRANSGENES Y OPTIMIZACION DE LA PRODUCCION DE PEPTIDOS ANTIMICROBIANOS DE USO FITOSANITARIO EN PLANTAS-BIOFACTORIA/
dc.relation.isformatof
Reproducció digital del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-12-159
dc.relation.ispartof
BMC Plant Biology, 2012, vol. 12, p. 159-180
dc.relation.ispartofseries
Articles publicats (D-EQATA)
dc.rights
Attribution 2.0 Spain
dc.rights.uri
dc.subject
dc.title
Constitutive expression of transgenes encoding derivatives of the synthetic antimicrobial peptide BP100: impact on rice host plant fitness
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.identifier.idgrec
018641
dc.contributor.funder
dc.relation.ProjectAcronym
dc.identifier.eissn
1471-2229
dc.identifier.PMID
22947243
dc.identifier.PMCID
PMC3514116