Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-2-22
pubmed:abstractText
Salicylic acid (SA) plays a central role as a signalling molecule involved in plant defense against microbial attack. Genetic manipulation of SA biosynthesis may therefore help to generate plants that are more disease-resistant. By fusing the two bacterial genes pchA and pchB from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which encode isochorismate synthase and isochorismate pyruvate-lyase, respectively, we have engineered a novel hybrid enzyme with salicylate synthase (SAS) activity. The pchB-A fusion was expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana under the control of the constitutive cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, with targeting of the gene product either to the cytosol (c-SAS plants) or to the chloroplast (p-SAS plants). In p-SAS plants, the amount of free and conjugated SA was increased more than 20-fold above wild type (WT) level, indicating that SAS is functional in Arabidopsis. P-SAS plants showed a strongly dwarfed phenotype and produced very few seeds. Dwarfism could be caused by the high SA levels per se or, perhaps more likely, by a depletion of the chorismate or isochorismate pools of the chloroplast. Targeting of SAS to the cytosol caused a slight increase in free SA and a significant threefold increase in conjugated SA, probably reflecting limited chorismate availability in this compartment. Although this modest increase in total SA content did not strongly induce the resistance marker PR-1, it resulted nevertheless in enhanced disease resistance towards a virulent isolate of Peronospora parasitica. Increased resistance of c-SAS lines was paralleled with reduced seed production. Taken together, these results illustrate that SAS is a potent tool for the manipulation of SA levels in plants.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0960-7412
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
25
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
67-77
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Manipulation of salicylate content in Arabidopsis thaliana by the expression of an engineered bacterial salicylate synthase.
pubmed:affiliation
Département de Biologie, Université de Fribourg, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't