AUTHOR=Narvaez Isabel , Khayreddine Titouh , Pliego Clara , Cerezo Sergio , Jiménez-Díaz Rafael M. , Trapero-Casas José L. , López-Herrera Carlos , Arjona-Girona Isabel , Martín Carmen , Mercado José A. , Pliego-Alfaro Fernando 

TITLE=Usage of the Heterologous Expression of the Antimicrobial Gene afp From Aspergillus giganteus for Increasing Fungal Resistance in Olive

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00680

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.00680

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The antifungal protein (AFP) produced by <italic>Aspergillus giganteus</italic>, encoded by the <italic>afp</italic> gene, has been used to confer resistance against a broad range of fungal pathogens in several crops. In this research, transgenic olive plants expressing the <italic>afp</italic> gene under the control of the constitutive promoter CaMV35S were generated and their disease response against two root infecting fungal pathogens, <italic>Verticillium dahliae</italic> and <italic>Rosellinia necatrix</italic>, was evaluated. Embryogenic cultures derived from a mature zygotic embryo of cv. ‘Picual’ were used for <italic>A. tumefaciens</italic> transformation. Five independent transgenic lines were obtained, showing a variable level of <italic>afp</italic> expression in leaves and roots. None of these transgenic lines showed enhanced resistance to Verticillium wilt. However, some of the lines displayed a degree of incomplete resistance to white root rot caused by <italic>R. necatrix</italic> compared with disease reaction of non-transformed plants or transgenic plants expressing only the GUS gene. The level of resistance to this pathogen correlated with that of the <italic>afp</italic> expression in root and leaves. Our results indicate that the <italic>afp</italic> gene can be useful for enhanced partial resistance to <italic>R. necatrix</italic> in olive, but this gene does not protect against <italic>V. dahliae</italic>.</p>