Littérature scientifique sur le sujet « Transgenic grapevine »

Salt and drought stresses are major environmental conditions that severely limit grape growth and productivity, while exogenous melatonin can alleviate the drought and salt damage to grapevines. N-acetylserotonin methyltransferase (ASMT) is the key enzyme in melatonin synthesis, which plays a critical role in regulating stress responses. However, the roles of ASMTs from grapevine under drought and salt stresses responses remain largely unclear. In this study, the VvASMT1 gene was isolated from grapevine, and its physiological functions in salt and mimic drought stress tolerance were investigated. Expression pattern analysis revealed that VvASMT1 was significantly induced by different salt and osmotic stresses. Ectopic expression of VvASMT1 in Nicotiana benthamiana significantly enhanced melatonin production in transgenic plants. Compared with wild-type plants, the transgenic lines exhibited a higher germination ratio, longer root length, lower degree of leaf wilting and relative water content (RWC) under salt and osmotic stresses. In addition, under salt and osmotic stresses, overexpression of VvASMT1 improved proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and decreased the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Taken together, our results demonstrate the explicit role of VvASMT1 in salt and osmotic stress responses, which provides a theoretical foundation for the genetic engineering of grapevine.

Pierce's disease (PD), caused by the xylem-limited bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, is endemic to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. Although native southern grapevines are tolerant to X. fastidiosa, all varieties of Vitisvinifera grown in the region will succumb to PD. Genetic transformation to add disease resistance genes, while not disturbing desirable phenotypic characters, holds promise for expanding the southeastern U.S. grape industry by allowing use of established fruit and wine varieties. We utilize embryogenic cell cultures and Agrobacterium strain EHA105 to refine transformation systems for Vitis species and hybrids. V. vinifera`Thompson Seedless' is employed as a model variety to test various transgenes for disease resistance, since as many as 150 independent transgenic plant lines routinely are produced from 1 g of embryogenic culture material. Transgenic plants are stringently screened for PD resistance in greenhouses by mechanical inoculation with X. fastidiosa. Transgenic plants are compared with both susceptible and resistant control plants by assessing typical PD symptom development and by assaying bacterial populations in xylem sap over time. Using these procedures, nine putative PD resistance genes have been inserted into grapevine and over 900 unique transgenic lines have been evaluated. A range of susceptible-to-resistant responses has been catalogued. Thus far, the best construct for PD resistance contains a grape codon-optimized hybrid lytic peptide gene in a high-performance bi-directional 35S promoter complex. Certain transgenic plant lines containing this construct exhibit better resistance than that of resistant control vines.

A major drawback to the use of embryogenic cultures for transformation of grapevine is that their ability to undergo genetic transformation is cultivar-dependent. Also, depending on cultivar, embryogenic cultures are difficult to impossible to maintain over time, reducing their utility for use in genetic transformation. An alternative to the use of embryogenic cultures for transformation of grapevine is the use of micropropagation cultures, which are easier to initiate from a wide range of grapevine cultivars and can be maintained over time without loss of function. Vitis vinifera `Thompson Seedless' was used as a model for genetic transformation using micropropagation cultures. In vitro cultures were initiated from apical meristems of actively growing vines and maintained in C2D medium containing 4 μM of 6-benzylaminopurine (C2D4B). Shoot tips and nodes were collected from proliferating in vitro cultures for transformation studies. A variety of wounding techniques, including nicking, sonication, and fragmenting of meristematic tissues was employed in order to enable Agrobacterium infection. We used a construct containing a bidirectional 35S promoter complex with a marker gene composed of a bifunctional fusion between an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene and a neomycin phosphotransferase (NPTII) gene in one direction and a hybrid lytic peptide gene in the other. Transgenic shoots growing in C2D4B medium containing 200 mg·L-1 each of carbenicillin and cefotaxime and 20 mg·L-1 of kanamycin were selected based on GFP fluorescence. Transgenic shoots were rooted and transferred to a greenhouse. To date, 18 transgenic lines have been generated. Details on the transformation procedure will be discussed.

Calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs) represent a large family of plant calcium sensor proteins involved in the regulation of plant responses to environmental cues and developmental processes. In the present work, we identified four alternatively spliced mRNA forms of the grapevine CML21 gene that encoded proteins with distinct N-terminal regions. We studied the transcript abundance of CML21v1, CML21v2, CML21v3, and CML21v4 in wild-growing grapevine Vitis amurensis Rupr. in response to desiccation, heat, cold, high salinity, and high mannitol stress using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The levels of all four splice variants of VaCML21 were highly induced in response to cold stress. In addition, VaCML21v1 and VaCML21v2 forms were highly modulated by all other abiotic stress treatments. Constitutive expression of VaCML21v2 and VaCML21v4 improved biomass accumulation of V. amurensis callus cell cultures under prolonged low temperature stress. Heterologous expression of the grapevine CML21v2 and VaCML21v4 splice variants in Arabidopsis improved survival rates of the transgenic plants after freezing. The VaCML21v2 overexpression enhanced activation of the cold stress-responsive marker genes AtDREB1A and AtDREB2A, while VaCML21v4 overexpression—AtCOR47, AtRD29A, AtRD29B, and AtKIN1 genes after freezing stress in the transgenic Arabidopsis. The results indicate that the grapevine CML21 gene acts as a positive regulator in the plant response to cold stress. The detected variety of CML21 transcripts and their distinct transcriptional responses suggested that this expansion of mRNA variants could contribute to the diversity of grapevine adaptive reactions.

In plants, auxin/indoleacetic acid (Aux/IAA) proteins are transcriptional regulators that regulate developmental process and responses to phytohormones and stress treatments. However, the regulatory functions of the Vitis vinifera L. (grapevine) Aux/IAA transcription factor gene VvIAA18 have not been reported. In this study, the VvIAA18 gene was successfully cloned from grapevine. Subcellular localization analysis in onion epidermal cells indicated that VvIAA18 was localized to the nucleus. Expression analysis in yeast showed that the full length of VvIAA18 exhibited transcriptional activation. Salt tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants and Escherichia. coli was significantly enhanced by VvIAA18 overexpression. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed that overexpression of VvIAA18 up-regulated the salt stress-responsive genes, including pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (NtP5CS), late embryogenesis abundant protein (NtLEA5), superoxide dismutase (NtSOD), and peroxidase (NtPOD) genes, under salt stress. Enzymatic analyses found that the transgenic plants had higher SOD and POD activities under salt stress. Meanwhile, component analysis showed that the content of proline in transgenic plants increased significantly, while the content of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased significantly. Based on the above results, the VvIAA18 gene is related to improving the salt tolerance of transgenic tobacco plants. The VvIAA18 gene has the potential to be applied to enhance plant tolerance to abiotic stress.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The importance of small antimicrobial peptides in the innate immune system of plants became increasingly apparent over the past decade. Antimicrobial peptides are unique and diverse molecules that are found in many tissue types in a variety of invertebrate, plant and animal species. Many of these peptides, such as plant defensins, have been found to be ubiquitous throughout the plant kingdom and have been isolated from flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, seedlings, pods, tubers and bark. The growing relevance of antimicrobial peptides (including plant defensins) in research can be largely attributed to their broad-spectrum antifungal activity. This makes them promising potential targets, both as therapeutic agents and for their use in crop protection and disease resistance. The continuing discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides has advanced the development of strategies to overexpress these genes in plants to attempt to enhance the plant’s natural ability to resist pathogenic attack. The first grapevine antifungal peptide, Vv-AMP1, was isolated and characterized and was shown to be tissue specific and developmentally regulated, being expressed only in berries at the onset of berry ripening. The peptide showed strong antifungal activity against a number of plant pathogenic fungi in vitro. In this study, the biological role of the Vv-AMP1 peptide was further investigated, both within its native host (Vitis vinifera) and under in vitro conditions against a panel of grapevine-specific pathogens. As a first step, recombinant production of Vv-AMP1 using an existing bacterial expression system was evaluated and the heterologous production of the Vv-AMP1 peptide improved. Specific optimizations targeting both production and purification of the peptide showed to improve the yield of Vv-AMP1. Steps in the production process targeted for improvement included induction conditions of peptide production by the bacterial culture as well as a number of purification steps, such as lysate preparation, binding conditions, column washing, elution conditions and thrombin protease cleavage. The optimized purification method produced up to 3 mg of pure Vv-AMP1 peptide from 1.6 L of overnight culture. While production was markedly improved, the resultant purified Vv-AMP1 proved biologically inactive and structurally unstable. This is uncharacteristic of the peptide, suggesting that an important aspect necessary for peptide activity, such as folding or the presence of specific co-factors might not be supported in this non-host prokaryotic production system. The study also entailed the characterization and evaluation of the Vv-AMP1 peptide against a panel of grapevine-specific pathogens that are culturable to sporulating cultures using in vitro antifungal assays and microscopy analysis. Vv-AMP1 showed strong inhibitory activity against all pathogens tested, inhibiting the growth of Diplodia seriata and Cylindrocarpon liriodendri by 50% at concentrations between 4.8 μg/ml and 9.6 μg/ml. Phaemoniella chlamydospora and Phomopsis viticola proved particularly sensitive, with IC50 values of 5.5 μg/ml and 4.0 μg/ml respectively. Microscopy analysis of the effect of the Vv-AMP1 peptide on P. viticola showed a severe inhibition on fungal germination and growth. The peptide did not induce morphological changes in fungal hyphae but compromises the fungal membranes, supporting the theory that the peptide induces membrane permeabilization. Functional analysis of a transgenic V. vinifera (cv. Sultana) population overexpressing Vv-AMP1 was included in this study to provide the opportunity to study the in planta role of the peptide in its native host. The genetic characterization of the putative population included confirming gene integration and copy number through PCR and Southern blot analysis as well as gene expression through northern blot analysis. A confirmed transgenic population was evaluated for improved disease resistance against Botrytis cinerea as a first test organism in an attempt to link the overexpression of the Vv-AMP1 gene to a disease resistance phenotype. Observations of lesion type, average lesion size and further statistical analysis concluded that the transgenic population showed a definite, albeit slight, improved resistance when compared to the untransformed control lines. In conclusion, the study determined that Vv-AMP1 had a strong antifungal action against grapevine-specific pathogenic fungi when tested in vitro. A definite link could be established between the overexpression of Vv-AMP1 and a mild resistance phenotype within its native host plant. The characterized transgenic population is important for further work to evaluate the in planta activity of the peptide against more grapevine pathogens such as the stem pathogens that were proven sensitive and specifically those that cannot be cultured and are obligate pathogens, such as the downy and powdery mildews.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die belang van klein antimikrobiese peptiede in die ingebore immuunstelsel van plante het tydens die afgelope dekade toenemend duidelik geraak. Antimikrobiese peptide is unieke en diverse molekules wat in verskeie weefseltipes in ‘n verskeidenheid van invertebraat-, plant- en dierspesies gevind word. Baie van hierdie peptiede, soos bv. “plant defensins”, word bevind om alomteenwoordig in die plantryk te wees en is reeds geïsoleer vanuit blomme, blare, wortels, sade, saailinge, peule, knolle en bas. Die toenemende belang van antimikrobiese peptiede (insluitend “plant defensins”) in navorsing kan grootliks toegeskryf word aan hul breë-spektrum antifungiese aktiwiteit. Hierdie eienskap maak hul belowende potensiële teikens, beide as terapeutiese middels asook vir gebruik in gewasbeskerming en siekteweerstand. Die voortdurende ontdekking van nuwe antimikrobiese peptiede bevorder tans die ontwikkeling van strategieë om hierdie gene in plante uit te druk in ‘n poging om die plant se natuurlike vermoeë om patogeniese aanval teen te staan te verbeter. Die eerste wingerd antifungale peptied, Vv-AMP1, is geïsoleer en gekarakteriseer as ‘n ontwikkelings-gereguleerde peptied wat slegs uitgedruk word in korrels, tydens die aanvang van bessie rypwording. Die peptied het tydens in vitro toetse sterk antifungale aktiwiteit getoon teen ‘n verskeidenheid plant-patogeniese swamme. In hierdie studie word die biologiese rol van die Vv-AMP1 peptied verder ondersoek, beide binne sy natuurlike gasheerplant, (Vitis vinifera) asook onder in vitro kondisies teen ‘n paneel van wingerd-spesifieke patogene. As ‘n beginpunt is rekombinante produksie van Vv-AMP1 met behulp van ‘n bakteriële ekspressie sisteem evalueer en die hetereloë produksie van die Vv-AMP1 peptied stelselmatig verbeter. Spesifieke optimerings het gefokus op beide die produksie en suiwering van die peptied en het die algehele opbrengs van Vv-AMP1 verhoog. Spesifieke stappe wat in die produksieproses vir verbetering geteiken is sluit beide induksietoestande van peptiedproduksie deur die bakteriële kultuur in sowel as ‘n aantal suiweringsstappe, soos lisaatvoorbereiding, bindingskondisies, kolom wasstappe, eluasie kondisies en “thrombin” protease snyding in. Die optimale suiweringsmetode het tot 3 mg suiwer Vv-AMP1 peptied opgelewer vanaf ‘n 1.6 L oornag bakteriële kultuur. Hoewel die produksie van die peptide noemenswaardig verbeter is, was die gesuiwerde Vv-AMP1 beide onaktief en struktureel onstabiel. Dit is buitengewoon vir hierdie peptied, wat daarop dui dat belangrike aspekte benodig vir antifungiese aktiwiteit, soos korrekte vou of die teenwoordigheid van spesifieke kofaktore, moontlik ontbreek in hierdie nie-gasheer prokariotiese produksiesisteem. Die studie het ook die karakterisering en evaluering van die Vv-AMP1 peptied teen 'n paneel van wingerd-spesifieke patogene wat kultureerbaar is en sporuleer, insluitend in vitro antifungale toetse en mikroskopiese analise, behels. Vv-AMP1 toon sterk inhiberende aktiwiteit teen alle patogene getoets. Dit inhibeer die groei van Diplodia seriata en Cylindrocarpon liriodendri met 50% teen konsentrasies tussen 4.8 μg/ml en 9.6 μg/ml. Phaemoniella chlamydospora en Phomopsis viticola was besonders sensitief, met IC50 waardes van 5.5 μg/ml en 4.0 μg/ml, onderskeidelik. Mikroskopiese analise van die effek van die Vv-AMP1 peptied op P. viticola het 'n ernstige inhibisie op swam ontkieming en groei aangedui. Die peptied het geen morfologiese veranderinge in swam hifes veroorsaak nie maar het wel die swam membraan beskadig. Hierdie bevinding ondersteun die teorie dat die peptied membraan permeabilisasie induseer. Funksionele analise van ‘n transgeniese V. vinifera (cv. Sultana) populasie wat die Vv-AMP1 geen ooruitdruk is by die studie ingesluit om ‘n geleentheid te bied om die in planta rol van die peptide binne sy natuurlike gasheerplant te bestudeer. Die genetiese karakterisering van die vermeende transgeniese bevolking het die bevestiging van beide geenintegrasie en kopiegetal deur PKR en Southern-klad analise ingesluit, sowel as geenuitdrukking d.m.v. noordelike-klad analise. ‘n Bevestigde transgeniese bevolking is evalueer vir potensiële verbeterde weerstand (in vergelyking met die wilde tipe) deur infeksie met Botrytis cinerea as ‘n eerste toetsorganisme in ‘n poging om ‘n weerstandbiedende fenotipe met die ooruitdrukking van Vv-AMP1 te assosieer. Waarnemings van letsel tipe, letsel grootte en verdere statistiese analise het tot die gevolgtrekking gelei dat die transgeniese bevolking ‘n definitiewe (dog geringe) verbeterde weerstand toon in vergelyking met die ongetransformeerde lyne. Ten slotte bepaal die studie dat Vv-AMP1 ‘n sterk antifungale effek teen wingerdspesifieke patogene toon tydens in vitro toetse. ‘n Definitiewe korrelasie is vasgestel tussen die ooruitdrukking van Vv-AMP1 in wingerd en ‘n weerstandsfenotipe in die transgeniese bevolking. Die gekarakteriseerde transgeniese bevolking is uiteraard belangrik vir toekomstige werk om die in planta aktiwiteit van die peptied te evalueer teen verdere wingerdpatogene soos bv. die stampatogene wat sensitief getoets het teen die peptide, asook patogene wat nie kultureerbaar is nie, insluitend verpligte patogene soos dons- en poeierskimmel.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The latest strategies in the protection of crops against microbial pathogens are rooted in harnessing the natural, highly complex defense mechanisms of plants through genetic engineering to ultimately reduce the application of chemical pesticides. This approach relies on an in-depth understanding of plant-pathogen interactions to develop reasonable strategies for plant improvement. Among the highly specialized defense mechanisms in the plant’s arsenal against pathogen attack, is the de novo production of proteinaceous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as part of the plant’s innate immunity. These AMPs are small, cysteine-rich peptides such as plant defensins that are known for their broad-spectrum of antifungal activity. These plant defensin peptides have been found to be present in most, if not all plant species and the defensin encoding genes are over-represented in plant genomes. Most of these defensins are generally the products of single genes, allowing the plant to deliver these molecules relatively rapidly and with minimal energetic expense to the plant. These factors contribute to establishing AMPs as excellent candidates for genetic engineering strategies in the pursuit of alternative crop protection mechanisms. The first antimicrobial peptide identified and isolated from grapevine, Vv-AMP1, was found to be developmentally regulated and exclusively expressed in berries from the onset of ripening. Recombinantly produced Vv-AMP1 showed strong antifungal activity against a wide range of plant pathogenic fungi at remarkably low peptide concentrations in vitro, however, no in planta defense phenotype could thus far be linked to this peptide. In this study, the antifungal activity of Vv-AMP1 constitutively overexpressed in its native host (Vitis vinifera) was evaluated against grapevine-specific necrotrophic and biotrophic fungi. Firstly, a hardened-off genetically characterised transgenic V. vinifera (cv. Sultana) population overexpressing Vv-AMP1 was generated and morphologically characterized. In order to evaluate the in planta functionality of Vv-AMP1 overexpressed in grapevine, this confirmed transgenic population was subjected to antifungal assays with the necrotrophic fungus, B. cinerea and the biotrophic powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe necator. For the purpose of infection assays with a biotrophic fungus, a method for the cultivation and infection with E. necator was optimized to generate a reproducible pathosystem for this fungus on grapevine. Detached leaf assays according to the optimized method with E. necator revealed programmed cell death (PCD) associated resistance linked to overexpression of Vv-AMP1 that can be compared to that of the highly resistant grapevine species, Muscadinia rotundifolia. Contrastingly, whole-plant infection assays with B. cinerea revealed that Vv-AMP1 overexpression does not confer V. vinifera with elevated resistance against this necrotrophic fungus. An in silico analysis of the transcription of defensin-like (DEFL) genes previously identified in grapevine was included in this study. This analysis revealed putative co-expression of these DEFL genes and other genes in the grapevine genome driven by either tissue- or cultivar specific regulation or the plant’s response to biotic and abiotic stress stimuli. In conclusion, this study contributed to our knowledge regarding Vv-AMP1 and revealed an in planta defense phenotype for this defensin in grapevine. In silico analysis of the DEFL genes in grapevine further revealed conditions driving expression of these genes allowing for inferences to be made regarding the possible biological functions of DEFL peptides in grapevine.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die nuutste strategieë wat deel vorm van die beskerming van plant gewasse teen mikrobiese patogene het hul oorsprong in die inspanning van die natuurlike, hoogs gekompliseerde verdedigingsmeganismes van die plant deur middel van genetiese enginieurswese ten einde die gebruik van chemiese plaagdoders te verlaag. Hierdie benadering maak staat op ‘n in-diepte begrip van plant-patogeen interaksies om verstandige strategieë vir plantverbetering te kan ontwikkel. Van hierdie hoogs-gespesialiseerde verdedigingsmeganismses in die plant se arsenaal teen patogeen aanvalle sluit die de novo produksie van proteinagtige antimikrobiese peptiede (AMPs) in as deel van die plant se ingebore immuunstelsel. Hierdie AMPs is klein, sisteïen-ryke peptiede soos die plant “defensins” en is bekend vir hul breë-spektrum antifungiese aktiwiteit. Hierdie plant defensinpeptiede word aangetref in meeste, indien nie alle plant spesies nie en die defensin koderende gene word oor-verteenwoordig in plant genome. Meeste van hierdie defensins is gewoonlik die produkte van enkele gene wat die plant in staat stel om hierdie molekules relatief spoedig en met minimale energie verbruik in die plant te vorm. Hierdie faktore dra by tot die vestiging van AMPs as uitstekende kandidate vir genetiese ingenieursstrategieë as deel van die strewe na alternatiewe gewasbeskermingsmeganismes. Die eerste antimikrobiese peptied wat geïdentifiseer en geïsoleer is uit wingerd, Vv-AMP1, word beheer deur die ontwikkelingsstadium en word eksklusief uitgedruk in korrels vanaf die aanvang van rypwording. Rekombinant-geproduseerde Vv-AMP1 het sterk antifungiese aktiwiteit getoon teen ‘n wye reeks plantpatogeniese swamme teen merkwaardige lae peptied konsentrasies in vitro, alhoewel geen in planta verdedigingsfenotipe tot dusver gekoppel kon word aan hierdie peptied nie. In hierdie studie was die antifungiese aktiwiteit van Vv-AMP1 wat ooruitgedruk is in sy natuurlike gasheerplant (Vitis vinifera) ge-evalueer teen wingerd-spesifieke nekrotrofiese- en biotrofiese swamme. Eerstens is ‘n afgeharde geneties-gekarakteriseerde transgeniese V. vinifera (cv. Sultana) populasie wat Vv-AMP1 ooruitdruk gegenereer en morfologies gekarakteriseer. Om die in planta funksionaliteit van Vv-AMP1 ooruitgedruk in wingerd te evalueer is hierdie bevestigde transgeniese populasie blootgestel aan antifungiese toetse met die nekrotrofiese swam, B. cinerea en die biotrofiese swam, Erysiphe necator. Vir die doel om infeksiestudies uit te voer met ‘n biotrofiese swam is ‘n metode geoptimiseer vir die kweek en infeksies met E. necator wat gelei het tot ‘n herhaalbare patosisteem vir hierdie swam op wingerd. Blaarstudies, volgens die pas-verbeterde metode vir E. necator infeksies het ‘n geprogrammeerde seldood-geassosieërde weerstand, gekoppel aan die ooruitdrukking van Vv-AMP1 onthul, wat vergelyk kan word met dié van die hoogs-weerstandige wingerdspesie, Muscadinia rotundifolia. Hierteenoor het heel-plant infeksie studies met B. cinerea onthul dat Vv-AMP1 ooruitdrukking geen verhoogde weerstand teen dié nekrotrofiese swam aan V. vinifera bied nie. ‘n In silico analise van die transkripsie van defensin-agtige (DEFL) gene wat vroeër in wingerd geïdentifiseer is, is by hierdie studie ingesluit. Hierdie analise het vermeende gesamentlike uitdrukking van hierdie DEFL gene en ander gene in die wingerd genoom onthul wat aangedryf word deur weefsel- of kultivar-spesifieke regulering of die plant se reaksie tot biotiese en abiotiese stress stimuli. Ten slotte, hierdie resultate het bygedra tot ons kennis in verband met Vv-AMP1 en het ‘n in planta verdedigingsfenotipe vir hierdie defensin in wingerd onthul. In silico analiese van die DEFL gene in wingerd het verder toestande onthul wat die uitdrukking van hierdie gene aandryf wat ons toelaat om aannames te maak ten opsigte van die moontlike biologiese funksies van DEFL peptiede in wingerd en ondersteun die opstel en toets van hipoteses vir die rol en megansimes van aksie van die wingerd defensin familie.

The original objectives are listed below: 1. Design vectors for constitutive expression of endochitinase from Trichoderma harzianum strain P1. Design vectors with signal peptides to target gene expression. 2. Extend transformation/regeneration technology to other cultivars of importance in the U.S. and Israel. 3. Transform cultivars with the endochitinase constructs developed as part of objective 1. A. Characterize foliar powdery mildew resistance in transgenic plants. Background of the topic Conventional breeding of grapevines is a slow and imprecise process. The long generation cycle, large space requirements and poor understanding of grapevine genetics prevent rapid progress. There remains great need to improve existing important cultivars without the loss of identity that follows from hybridization. Powdery mildew (Uncinula necator) is the most important fungal pathogen of grapevines, causing economic losses around the world. Genetic control of powdery mildew would reduce the requirement for chemical or cultural control of the disease. Yet, since the trait is under polygenic control, it is difficult to manipulate through hybridization and breeding. Also, because grapevines are heterozygous and vegetatively propagated cultivar identity is lost in the breeding process. Therefore, there is great need for techniques to produce transgenic versions of established cultivars with heterologous genes conferring disease resistance. Such a gene is now available for control of powdery mildew of grapevines. The protein coded by the Endochitinase gene, derived from Trichoderma harzianum, is very effective in suppressing U. necator growth. The goal of this proposal is to develop transgenic grapevines with this antifungal gene, and to test the effect of this gene on resistance to powdery mildew. Conclusions, achievements and implications Gene transfer technology for grape was developed using commercial cultivars for both wine and table grapes. It paved the way for a new tool in grapevine genetic studies enabling the alteration of specific important traits while maintaining the essential features of existing elite cultivars. Regeneration and transformation technologies were developed and are currently at an advanced stage for USA wine and Israeli seedless cultivars, representing the cutting edge of grape genetic engineering studies worldwide. Transgenic plants produced are tested for powdery mildew resistance in greenhouse and field experiments at both locations. It is our ultimate goal to develop transgenic grapes which will be more efficient and economical for growers to produce, while also providing consumers with familiar products grown with reduced chemical inputs.

Rugose wood is a complex disease of grapevines, which occurs in all growing areas. The disease is spread in the field by vector transmission (mealybugs). At least five elongated-phloem- limited viruses are implicated in the various rugose wood disorders. The most fully characterized of these are Grapevine virus A (GV A) and GVB, members of a newly established genus, the vitivirus. GVC, a putative vitivirus, is much less well characterized than GV A or GVB. The information regarding the role of GVC in the etiology and epidemiology of rugose wood is fragmentary and no sequence data for GVC are available. The proposed research is aimed to study the etiology and epidemiology of rugose wood disease, and to construct genetically engineered virus-resistant grapevines. The objectives of our proposed research were to construct transgenic plants with coat protein gene sequences designed to induce post-transcriptional gene silencing (pTGS); to study the epidemiology and etiology of rugose wood disease by cloning and sequencing of GVC; and surveying of rugose wood- associated viruses in Californian and Israeli vineyards. In an attempt to experimentally define the role of the various genes of GV A, we utilized the infectious clone, inserted mutations in every ORF, and studied the effect on viral replication, gene expression, symptoms and viral movement. We explored the production of viral RNAs in a GV A-infected Nicotiana benthamiana herbaceous host, and characterized one nested set of three 5'-terminal sgRNAs of 5.1, 5.5 and 6.0 kb, and another, of three 3'-terminal sgRNAs of 2.2, 1.8 and 1.0 kb that could serve for expression of ORFs 2-3, respectively. Several GV A constructs have been assembled into pCAMBIA 230 I, a binary vector which is used for Angrobacterium mediated transformation: GV A CP gene; two copies of the GV A CP gene arranged in the same antisense orientation; two copies of the GV A CP gene in which the downstream copy is in an antigens orientation; GV A replicase gene; GV A replicase gene plus the 3' UTR sequence; and the full genome of GV A. Experiments for transformation of N. benthamiana and grapevine cell suspension with these constructs have been initiated. Transgenic N. benthamiana plants that contained the CP gene, the replicase gene and the entire genome of GV A were obtained. For grapevine transformation, we have developed efficient protocols for transformation and successfully grapevine plantlets that contained the CP gene and the replicase genes of GV A were obtained. These plants are still under examination for expression of the trans genes. The construction of transgenic plants with GV A sequences will provide, in the long run, a means to control one of the most prevalent viruses associated with grapevines. Our many attempts to produce a cDNA library from the genome of GVC failed. For surveying of rugose wood associated viruses in California vineyards, samples were collected from different grape growing areas and tested by RT-PCR for GV A, GVB and GVD. The results indicated that some of the samples were infected with multiple viruses, but overall, we found higher incidence of GVB and GV A infection in California vineyards and new introduction varieties, respectively. In this research we also conducted studies to increase our understanding of virus - induced rootstock decline and its importance in vineyard productivity. Our results provided supporting evidence that the rootstock response to virus infection depends on the rootstock genotype and the virus type. In general, rootstocks are differ widely in virus susceptibility. Our data indicated that a virus type or its combination with other viruses was responsible in virus-induced rootstock decline. As the results showed, the growth of the rootstocks were severely affected when the combination of more than one virus was present.

Original objectives . 1. Test anti-fungal gene products for activity against Uncinula necator, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer and Botrytis cinerea. 2. For Agrobacterium transformation, design appropriate vectors with gene combinations. 3. Use biolistic bombardment and Agrobacterium for transformation of important cultivars. 4. Characterize gene expression in transformants, as well as level of powdery mildew and Botrytis resistance in foliage of transformed plants. Background The production of new grape cultivars by conventional breeding is a complex and time-consuming process. Transferring individual traits via single genes into elite cultivars was proposed as a viable strategy, especially for vegetatively propagated crops such as grapevines. The availability of effective genetic transformation procedures, the existence of genes able to reduce pathogen stress, and improved in vitro culture methods for grapes, were combined to serve the objective of this proposal. Effective deployment of resistance genes would reduce production costs and increase crop quality, and several such genes and combinations were used in this project. Progress The efficacy of two-way combinations of Trichoderma endochitinase (CHIT42), synthetic peptide ESF12 and resveratrol upon the control of growth of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum were evaluated in vitro. All pairwise interactions were additive but not synergistic. Per objective 2, suitable vectors with important gene combinations for Agrobacterium transformation were designed. In addition, multiple gene co-transformation by particle bombardment was also tested successfully. In New York, transformation work focused on cultivars Chardonnay and Merlot, while the technology in Israel was extended to 41B, R. 110, Prime, Italia, Gamay, Chardonnay and Velika. Transgenic plant production is summarized in the appendix. Among plants developed in Israel, endochitinase expression was assayed via the MuchT assay using material just 1-5 days after co-cultivation. Plants of cv. Sugraone carrying the gene coding for ESF12, a short anti-fungal lytic peptide under the control of the double 358 promoter, were produced. Leaf extracts of two plants showed inhibition zones that developed within 48 h indicating the inhibitory effect of the leaf extracts on the six species of bacteria. X fastidiosa, the causal organism of Pierce's disease, was very sensitive to leaf extracts from ESF12 transformed plants. Further work is needed to verify the agricultural utility of ESF12 transformants. In New York, some transformants were resistant to powdery mildew and Botrytis fruit rot. Major conclusions, solutions, achievements and implications The following scientific achievements resulted from this cooperative BARD project: 1. Development and improvement of embryogenesis and tissue culture manipulation in grape, while extending these procedures to several agriculturally important cultivars both in Israel and USA. 2. Development and improvement of novel transformation procedures while developing transformation techniques for grape and other recalcitrant species. 3. Production of transgenic grapevines, characterization of transformed vines while studying the expression patterns of a marker gene under the control of different promoter as the 35S CaMV in different part of the plants including flowers and fruits. 4. Expression of anti-fungal genes in grape: establishment of transgenic plants and evaluation of gene expression. Development of techniques to insert multiple genes. 5. Isolation of novel grape specific promoter to control the expression of future antimicrobial genes. It is of great importance to report that significant progress was made in not only the development of transgenic grapevines, but also in the evaluation of their potential for increased resistance to disease as compared with the non engineered cultivar. In several cases, increased disease resistance was observed. More research and development is still needed before a product can be commercialized, yet our project lays a framework for further investigations.