The germinlike protein GLP4 exhibits superoxide dismutase activity and is an important component of quantitative resistance in wheat and barley

Anders Bentsen Christensen, Hans Thordal-Christensen, Grit Zimmermann, Torben Gjetting, Michael Foged Lyngkjær, Robert Dudler, Patrick Schweizer

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Germinlike proteins (GLP) are encoded in plants by a gene family with proposed functions in plant development and defense. Genes of GLP subfamily 4 of barley (HvGLP4, formerly referred to as HvOxOLP) and the wheat orthologue TaGLP4 (formerly referred to as TaGLP2a) were previously found to be expressed in pathogen-attacked epidermal tissue of barley and wheat leaves, and the corresponding proteins are proposed to accumulate in the apoplast. Here, the role of HvGLP4 and TaGLP4 in the defense of barley and wheat against Blumeria graminis (DC.) E. O. Speer, the cereal powdery mildew fungus, was examined in an epidermal transient expression system and in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing His-tagged HvGLP4. Leaf extracts of transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing HvGLP4 contained a novel His-tagged protein with superoxide dismutase activity and HvGLP4 epitopes. Transient overexpression of TaGLP4 and HvGLP4 enhanced resistance against B. graminis in wheat and barley, whereas transient silencing by RNA interference reduced basal resistance in both cereals. The effect of GLP4 overexpression or silencing was strongly influenced by the genotype of the plant. The data suggest that members of GLP subfamily 4 are components of quantitative resistance in both barley and wheat, acting together with other, as yet unknown, plant components.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalMolecular Plant - Microbe Interactions
    Volume17
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)109-117
    ISSN0894-0282
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2004

    Keywords

    • transgene
    • RNAi

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