RESUMEN

Defensins are small cysteine-rich peptides with antimicrobial activity. We demonstrate that the alfalfa antifungal peptide (alfAFP) defensin isolated from seeds of Medicago sativa displays strong activity against the agronomically important fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae. Expression of the alfAFP peptide in transgenic potato plants provides robust resistance in the greenhouse. Importantly, this resistance is maintained under field conditions. There have been no previous demonstrations of a single transgene imparting a disease resistance phenotype that is at least equivalent to those achieved through current practices using fumigants.

Asunto(s)

Defensinas/genética , Defensinas/farmacología , Solanum tuberosum/genética , Solanum tuberosum/microbiología , Verticillium/efectos de los fármacos , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Secuencia de Bases , Defensinas/química , Defensinas/metabolismo , Medicago sativa/metabolismo , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Enfermedades de las Plantas/microbiología , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente/genética , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente/crecimiento & desarrollo , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente/metabolismo , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente/microbiología , Solanum tuberosum/metabolismo , Transgenes/genética , Transgenes/fisiología , Verticillium/crecimiento & desarrollo