VPg of Potato Virus Y and Potato Cap-Binding eIF4E Factors: Selective Interaction and Its Supposed Mechanism.

Potato virus Y (PVY) is one of the most common and harmful plant viruses. Translation of viral RNA starts with the interaction between the plant cap-binding translation initiation factors eIF4E and viral genome-linked protein (VPg) covalently attached to the viral RNA. Disruption of this interaction is one of the natural mechanisms of plant resistance to PVY.

Novel strong promoter of antimicrobial peptides gene pro-SmAMP2 from chickweed (Stellaria media).

Background: In a previous study we found that in chickweed the expression level of the pro-SmAMP2 gene was comparable or even higher to that of the β-actin gene. This high level of the gene expression has attracted our attention as an opportunity for the identification of novel strong promoters of plant origin, which could find its application in plant biotechnology. Therefore, in the present study we focused on the nucleotide sequence identification and the functional characteristics of the pro-SmAMP2 promoter in transgenic plants.

Transformation of tobacco and Arabidopsis plants with Stellaria media genes encoding novel hevein-like peptides increases their resistance to fungal pathogens.

Two novel antifungal hevein-like peptides, SmAMP1.1a and SmAMP2.2a, were previously isolated from seeds of Stellaria media.