Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on October 18, 2007
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm142
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Plastidial glutathione reductase from Haynaldia villosa is an enhancer of powdery mildew resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum)
1 The National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
2 South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
3 The Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering, School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Tianjing Normal University, Tianjing 300074, China
Corresponding author: Prof. Peidu Chen, The National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1#, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Telephone number, +86-25-84396026; Fax, +86-25-8439-5344; E-mail, pdchen{at}njau.edu.cn;
| Abstract |
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A full-length cDNA (Hv-GR) whose transcript accumulation increased in response to infection by Blumeria graminis DC.f.sp.tritici (Bgt) was isolated from Haynaldia villosa. Southern analysis revealed a single copy of Hv-GR present in H. villosa. This gene encodes a glutathione reductase (GR) with high similarity to chloroplastic GRs from other plant species. Chloroplastic localization of Hv-GR was confirmed by targeting of the GFP-Hv-GR fusion protein to chloroplasts of epidermal guard cells. Following inoculation with Bgt, transcript accumulation of Hv-GR increased in a resistant line of wheat, but no significant change was observed in a susceptible line. In vivo function of Hv-GR in converting oxidized glutathione (GSSG) to the reduced form (GSH) was verified through heterologous expression of Hv-GR in a yeast GR deficient mutant. As expected, overexpression of this gene resulted in increased resistance of the mutant to H2O2, indicating a critical role of Hv-GR in protecting cells against oxidative stress. Moreover, overexpression of Hv-GR in a susceptible wheat variety, Triticum aestivum cv.Yangmai 158, enhanced resistance to powdery mildew and induced transcript accumulation of other pathogenesis-related genes, PR-1a and PR-5, through increasing the foliar GSH/GSSG ratio. Therefore, we concluded that a high ratio of GSH to GSSG glutathione is required for wheat defense against Bgt, and that chloroplastic GR enzymes might serve as a redox mediator for NPR1 activation.
Keywords: Chloroplastic glutathione reductase - Haynaldia villosa - Powdery mildew - Triticum aestivum - Disease resistance
a These authors contributed equally to this work.
(Received August 4, 2007; Accepted October 14, 2007)
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