Pectin is a complex polysaccharide and an integral part of the primary plant cell wall and middle lamella, contributing to cell wall mechanical strength and cell adhesion. To understand the structure-function relationships of pectin in the cell wall, a set of transgenic potato lines with altered pectin composition was analysed. The expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in pectin acetyla...

We have developed a novel and reproducible system for recovery of fertile transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) plants. The transformation was performed using microprojectile bombardment of cultured shoot apices of maize with a plasmid carrying two linked genes, the Streptomyces hygroscopicus phosphinothricin acetyltransferase gene (bar) and the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene, either alone or in ...

We have developed a nove1 and reproducible system for recovery of fertile transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) plants. The transformation was performed using microprojectile bombardment of cultured shoot apices of maize with a plasmid carrying two linked genes, the Strepfomyces bygroscopicus phosphinothricin acetyltransferase gene (bar) and the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene, either alone or in ...

Background: Plants over-expressing Arabidopsis ABF3 (abscisic acid-responsive element-binding factor 3) have enhanced tolerance to various environmental stresses, especially drought. Using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, we compared the rhizosphere-associated structures of microbial communities for transgenic potato containing this gene and conventional “Jop...

Lipoxygenases catalyze the formation of fatty acid hydroperoxide precursors of an array of compounds involved in the regulation of plant development and responses to stress. To elucidate the function of the potato 13-lipoxygenase H1 (LOX H1), we have generated transgenic potato plants with reduced expression of the LOX H1 gene as a consequence of co-suppression-mediated gene silencing. Three in...

Studies have reported the potential of protease inhibitors to engineer insect resistance in transgenic plants but the general usefulness of this approach in crop protection still remains to be established. Insects have evolved strategies to cope with dietary protease inhibitors, such as the use of proteases recalcitrant to inhibition, that often make the selection of effective inhibitors very c...

Late blight of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), incited by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, is a devastating disease affecting tuber yield and storage. Recent work has isolated a resistance gene, RB, from the wild species Solanum bulbocastanum Dun. Earlier work in Toluca, Mexico, observed significant levels of field resistance under intense disease pressure in a somatic hybrid containing R...

We have purified a fructosyltransferase from conidia of the inulin-producing fungus Aspergillus sydowi IAM 2544 and obtained peptide sequences from proteolytic fragments of the protein. With degenerated primers, we amplified a PCR fragment that was used to screen a cDNA library. The fructosyltransferase gene from Aspergillus sydowi (EMBL accession no. AJ289046) is expressed in conidia, while no...

Gene silencing is an important but little understood regulatory mechanism in plants. Here we report that a viral sequence, initially identified as a mediator of synergistic viral disease, acts to suppress the establishment of both transgene-induced and virus-induced posttranscriptional gene silencing. The viral suppressor of silencing comprises the 5'-proximal region of the tobacco etch potyvir...