K. Datta et al., Enhanced resistance to sheath blight by constitutive expression of infection-related rice chitinase in transgenic elite indica rice cultivars, PLANT SCI, 160(3), 2001, pp. 405-414
Genetic transformation has been attempted for management of rice sheath bli
ght disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani. We introduced a PR-3 rice chitin
ase gene (RC7), isolated from R. solani-infected rice plants, into indica r
ice cultivars IR72, IR64, IR68899B, MH63, and Chinsurah Bore II by the biol
istic and PEG-mediated transformation system. Inheritance was studied up to
the T-2 generation by Southern blot analysis. Western blot analysis of tra
nsgenic plants with polyclonal antibody revealed the presence of chitinase
protein with a molecular weight of 35 kDa that reacts with chitinase antibo
dy. The transformants synthesized different levels of chitinase proteins co
nstitutively and progeny from the plants containing the chitinase gene show
ed different levels of enhanced resistance when challenged with the sheath
blight pathogen R. solani. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All right
s reserved.