Ectopic Expression of the Executor-Type Gene Paralog in Rice Leads to Spontaneous Lesions and Enhanced Disease Resistance.

Plant disease resistance () gene-mediated effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is usually associated with hypersensitive response (HR) and provides robust and race-specific disease resistance against pathogenic infection. The activation of ETI and HR in plants is strictly regulated, and improper activation will lead to cell death. is an executor-type gene in rice induced by the TAL effector AvrXa27 and confers disease resistance to pv.

Genetic engineering low-arsenic and low-cadmium rice grain.

Rice is prone to take up the toxic elements arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) from paddy soil through the transporters for other essential elements. Disruption of these essential transporters usually adversely affects the normal growth of rice and the homeostasis of essential elements. Here we report on developing low-As and low-Cd rice grain through the co-overexpression of OsPCS1, OsABCC1, and OsHMA3 genes under the control of the rice OsActin1 promoter.

Plant growth promotion under phosphate deficiency and improved phosphate acquisition by new fungal strain, TLL1.

Microbiomes in soil ecosystems play a significant role in solubilizing insoluble inorganic and organic phosphate sources with low availability and mobility in the soil. They transfer the phosphate ion to plants, thereby promoting plant growth. In this study, we isolated an unidentified fungal strain, POT1 ( TLL1) from indoor dust samples, and confirmed its ability to promote root growth, especially under phosphate deficiency, as well as solubilizing activity for insoluble phosphates such as AlPO, FePO·4HO, Ca(PO), and hydroxyapatite.

TAL effector-dependent Bax gene expression in transgenic rice confers disease resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

The hypersensitive response (HR) is a form of programmed cell death of plant cells occurring in the local region surrounding pathogen infection site to prevent the spread of infection by pathogens. Bax, a mammalian pro-apoptotic member of Bcl-2 family, triggers HR-like cell death when expressed in plants. However, constitutive expression of the Bax gene negatively affects plant growth and development.

Inactivation of retrotransposon in rice cultivar Nipponbare through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing.

Retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements capable of transposition via reverse transcription of RNA intermediates. Rice cultivar Nipponbare contains two nearly identical genomic copies of , an endogenous -like LTR retrotransposon, on chromosomes 7 ( ) and 10 ( ), respectively. Previous studies demonstrated that only is active in transposition during tissue culture.

The pepper Bs4C proteins are localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and confer disease resistance to bacterial blight in transgenic rice.

Transcription activator-like effector (TALE)-dependent dominant disease resistance (R) genes in plants, also referred to as executor R genes, are induced on infection by phytopathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas harbouring the corresponding TALE genes. Unlike the traditional R proteins, the executor R proteins do not determine the resistance specificity and may function broadly in different plant species. The executor R gene Bs4C-R in the resistant genotype PI 235047 of the pepper species Capsicum pubescens (CpBs4C-R) confers disease resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv.

Induction of Xa10-like Genes in Rice Cultivar Nipponbare Confers Disease Resistance to Rice Bacterial Blight.

Bacterial blight of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, is one of the most destructive bacterial diseases throughout the major rice-growing regions in the world. The rice disease resistance (R) gene Xa10 confers race-specific disease resistance to X.

Marker-assisted breeding of the rice restorer line Wanhui 6725 for disease resistance, submergence tolerance and aromatic fragrance.

Background: Rice is a staple food crop in the world. With the increase in world population and economic development, farmers need to produce more rice in limited field. However, the rice production is frequently affected by biotic and abiotic stresses.

Development of marker-free transgenic Jatropha curcas producing curcin-deficient seeds through endosperm-specific RNAi-mediated gene silencing.

Background: Jatropha curcas L. is a potential biofuel plant and its seed oil is suitable for biodiesel production. Despite this promising application, jatropha seeds contain two major toxic components, namely phorbol esters and curcins.

Engineering low phorbol ester Jatropha curcas seed by intercepting casbene biosynthesis.

Casbene is a precursor to phorbol esters and down-regulating casbene synthase effectively reduces phorbol ester biosynthesis. Seed-specific reduction of phorbol ester (PE) helps develop Jatropha seed cake for animal nutrition. Phorbol esters (PEs) are diterpenoids present in some Euphorbiaceae family members like Jatropha curcas L.

TAL effectors and the executor R genes.

Transcription activator-like (TAL) effectors are bacterial type III secretion proteins that function as transcription factors in plants during Xanthomonas/plant interactions, conditioning either host susceptibility and/or host resistance. Three types of TAL effector associated resistance (R) genes have been characterized-recessive, dominant non-transcriptional, and dominant TAL effector-dependent transcriptional based resistance. Here, we discuss the last type of R genes, whose functions are dependent on direct TAL effector binding to discrete effector binding elements in the promoters.

Marker-assisted breeding of Indonesia local rice variety Siputeh for semi-dwarf phonetype, good grain quality and disease resistance to bacterial blight.

Background: Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in Asia. Since the first green revolution beginning in 1960s, high-yield semidwarf modern rice varieties have been widely planted; however, traditional rice varieties with tall plant type are still grown in many countries due to their good grain quality and adaptation to local climate and environment. Siputeh, a local rice variety mainly planted in Java and Sumatra islands of Indonesia, produces long grain rice with good cooking and eating quality.

Genetic engineering of the Xa10 promoter for broad-spectrum and durable resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Many pathovars of plant pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas species inject transcription activator-like (TAL) effectors into plant host cells to promote disease susceptibility or trigger disease resistance. The rice TAL effector-dependent disease resistance gene Xa10 confers narrow-spectrum race-specific resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial blight disease in rice.

Production of marker-free transgenic Jatropha curcas expressing hybrid Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxin Cry1Ab/1Ac for resistance to larvae of tortrix moth (Archips micaceanus).

Background: The potential biofuel plant Jatropha curcas L. is affected by larvae of Archips micaceanus (Walker), a moth of the family Tortricidae. The hybrid Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) δ-endotoxin protein Cry1Ab/1Ac confers resistance to lepidopteran insects in transgenic rice.

The rice TAL effector-dependent resistance protein XA10 triggers cell death and calcium depletion in the endoplasmic reticulum.

The recognition between disease resistance (R) genes in plants and their cognate avirulence (Avr) genes in pathogens can produce a hypersensitive response of localized programmed cell death. However, our knowledge of the early signaling events of the R gene-mediated hypersensitive response in plants remains limited. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of Xa10, a transcription activator-like (TAL) effector-dependent R gene for resistance to bacterial blight in rice (Oryza sativa).

A conserved genetic pathway determines inflorescence architecture in Arabidopsis and rice.

The spatiotemporal architecture of inflorescences that bear flowers determines plant reproductive success by affecting fruit set and plant interaction with pollinators. The inflorescence architecture that displays great diversity across flowering plants depends on developmental decisions at inflorescence meristems. Here we report a key conserved genetic pathway determining inflorescence architecture in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa (rice).

Expression of fatty acid and lipid biosynthetic genes in developing endosperm of Jatropha curcas.

Background: Temporal and spatial expression of fatty acid and lipid biosynthetic genes are associated with the accumulation of storage lipids in the seeds of oil plants. In jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.), a potential biofuel plant, the storage lipids are mainly synthesized and accumulated in the endosperm of seeds.

A first generation microsatellite- and SNP-based linkage map of Jatropha.

Jatropha curcas is a potential plant species for biodiesel production. However, its seed yield is too low for profitable production of biodiesel. To improve the productivity, genetic improvement through breeding is essential.

Molecular cloning and expression of heteromeric ACCase subunit genes from Jatropha curcas.

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) catalyzes the biotin-dependent carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to produce malonyl-CoA, which is the essential first step in the biosynthesis of long-chain fatty acids. ACCase exists as a multi-subunit enzyme in most prokaryotes and the chloroplasts of most plants and algae, while it is present as a multi-domain enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum of most eukaryotes. The heteromeric ACCase of higher plants consists of four subunits: an α-subunit of carboxyltransferase (α-CT, encoded by accA gene), a biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP, encoded by accB gene), a biotin carboxylase (BC, encoded by accC gene) and a β-subunit of carboxyltransferase (β-CT, encoded by accD gene).

Production of marker-free transgenic rice expressing tissue-specific Bt gene.

The hybrid Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) δ-endotoxin gene Cry1Ab/Ac was used to develop a transgenic Bt rice (Oryza sativa L.) targeting lepidopteran insects of rice. Here, we show the production of a marker-free and tissue-specific expressing transgenic Bt rice line L24 using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and a chemically regulated, Cre/loxP-mediated DNA recombination system.

An improved method for RNA isolation and cDNA library construction from immature seeds of Jatropha curcas L.

Background: RNA quality and quantity is sometimes unsuitable for cDNA library construction, from plant seeds rich in oil, polysaccharides and other secondary metabolites. Seeds of jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) are rich in fatty acids/lipids, storage proteins, polysaccharides, and a number of other secondary metabolites that could either bind and/or co-precipitate with RNA, making it unsuitable for downstream applications.

Transcription activator-like type III effector AvrXa27 depends on OsTFIIAgamma5 for the activation of Xa27 transcription in rice that triggers disease resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

The transcription activator-like (TAL) type III effector AvrXa27 from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strain PXO99(A) activates the transcription of the host resistance gene Xa27, which results in disease resistance to bacterial blight (BB) in rice. In this study, we show that AvrXa27-activated Xa27 transcription requires host general transcription factor OsTFIIAgamma5.

Constitutive heterologous expression of avrXa27 in rice containing the R gene Xa27 confers enhanced resistance to compatible Xanthomonas oryzae strains.

The vascular pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and nonvascular pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) cause bacterial blight (BB) and bacterial leaf streak (BLS) diseases of rice, respectively.

XA27 depends on an amino-terminal signal-anchor-like sequence to localize to the apoplast for resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae.

The rice (Oryza sativa) gene Xa27 confers resistance to Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae, the causal agent of bacterial blight disease in rice. Sequence analysis of the deduced XA27 protein provides little or no clue to its mode of action, except that a signal-anchor-like sequence is predicted at the amino (N)-terminal region of XA27. As part of an effort to characterize the biochemical function of XA27, we decided to determine its subcellular localization.

The bacterial cell division protein FtsZ assembles into cytoplasmic rings in fission yeast.

During cytokinesis, most bacteria assemble a ring-like structure that is composed of the tubulin homolog FtsZ. The mechanisms regulating assembly and organization of FtsZ molecules into rings are not fully understood. Here, we express bacterial FtsZ in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and find that FtsZ filaments assemble into cytoplasmic rings.