Methods of protecting plants from pathogenic fungi
Methods for protecting a plant from a plant pathogenic fungus are provided. A method for enhancing fungal pathogen resistance in a plant using the nucleotide sequences disclosed herein is further provided. The method comprises introducing into a plant an expression cassette comprising a promoter operably linked to a nucleotide sequence that encodes an antifungal polypeptide of the invention. Transformed plants, plant cells, seeds, and microorganisms comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes an antifungal polypeptide of the embodiments, or variant or fragment thereof, are also disclosed.
1. A method for enhancing resistance of a plant to a pathogen, said method comprising:
(a) stably transforming a plant cell with at least one expression cassette comprising a nucleotide sequence operably linked to a promoter that drives expression in a cell of said plant, wherein said nucleotide sequence has at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 3, and further wherein said nucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide having activity against at least one plant fungal pathogen; and
(b) regenerating a transformed plant from said plant cell, wherein the level of resistance to said fungal pathogen in said plant is increased in comparison to a plant that does not comprise said expression cassette.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of:
a) a constitutive promoter;
b) a tissue-specific promoter; and
c) an inducible promoter.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide further comprises a heterologous signal sequence.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the signal sequence is a secretion signal sequence.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the signal sequence is an organelle signal sequence.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the signal sequence is a plastid signal sequence.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nucleotide sequence is SEQ ID NO: 3.
8. A transgenic plant having stably incorporated into its genome a polynucleotide sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said polynucleotide sequence encodes a polypeptide with activity against plant fungal pathogens, further wherein said plant has improved fungal pathogen resistance to at least one plant pathogenic fungus.
9. The plant according to claim 8 , wherein said plant is a monocot.
10. The plant according to claim 8 , wherein said plant is a dicot.
11. Transformed seed of the plant of claim 8 , wherein the seed comprise the polynucleotide sequence.
12. The plant according to claim 8 , wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter that drives expression in a cell of said plant, wherein said promoter is selected from the group consisting of:
a) a constitutive promoter;
b) a tissue-specific promoter; and
c) an inducible promoter.
13. The plant according to claim 8 , wherein the polypeptide further comprises a heterologous signal sequence.
14. The plant according to claim 13 , wherein the signal sequence is a secretion signal sequence.
15. The plant according to claim 13 , wherein the signal sequence is an organelle signal sequence.
16. The plant according to claim 13 , wherein the signal sequence is a plastid signal sequence.
17. The plant according to claim 8 , wherein said polynucleotide sequence is SEQ ID NO: 3.
18. The method of claim 2 , wherein the tissue-specific promoter is a root-specific promoter, and the inducible promoter is a pathogen-inducible promoter.
19. The plant of claim 12 , wherein the tissue-specific promoter is a root-specific promoter, and the inducible promoter is a pathogen-inducible promoter.