Tobacco leaf spot and root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn.

Unlabelled: Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is a soil-borne fungal pathogen that causes disease in a wide range of plants worldwide. Strains of the fungus are traditionally grouped into genetically isolated anastomosis groups (AGs) based on hyphal anastomosis reactions. This article summarizes aspects related to the infection process, colonization of the host and molecular mechanisms employed by tobacco plants in resistance against R.

Over-expression of a protein kinase gene enhances the defense of tobacco against Rhizoctonia solani.

To identify Nicotiana tabacum genes involved in resistance and susceptibility to Rhizoctonia solani, suppression subtractive hybridization was used to generate a cDNA library from transcripts that are differentially expressed during a compatible and incompatible interaction. This allowed the isolation of a protein kinase cDNA that was down-regulated during a compatible and up-regulated during an incompatible interaction. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of this gene confirmed the differential expression patterns between the compatible and incompatible interactions.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein enhances the immunogenicity of a co-delivered DNA vaccine encoding HCV structural antigens in mice.

In the present study, recombinant HCV (hepatitis C virus) core proteins enhanced the immune response elicited by a co-delivered DNA vaccine encoding HCV core and envelope proteins. A mixture of the plasmid pIDKE2 and Co.173, a protein comprising the first 173 amino acids of HCV core, in particular induces a strong humoral response, including antibodies that recognized peptides representing hypervariable region I from different viral isolates.