Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of the plant pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe grisea.

H. S. Rho, S. Kang, Y. H. Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

199 Scopus citations

Abstract

An effective way to study the infection mechanisms of fungal pathogens is to disrupt their genes via transformation in both targeted and random manners. This isolates the mutants that exhibit altered virulence. In this paper, we report the successful transformation of Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent for rice blast, that is mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Employing the binary vector pBHt2, which carries the bacterial hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene under the control of the Aspergillus nidulans trpC promoter as a selectable marker, led to the production of 500 to > 1,000 hygromycin B-resistant transformants per 1 x 10(6) conidia of M. grisea. The transformation efficiency is correlated with the number of A. tumefaciens cells used, pre-treating bacterial cells with acetosyringone prior to co-cultivation with fungal spores, and the duration of co-cultivation. All of the transformants tested remained mitotically stable, maintaining their hygromycin B resistance after several generations of growth in the absence of hygromycin B. A genomic Southern blot analysis showed that over 60% of the transformants contained a single T-DNA insert on their genome. Considering the efficiency and flexibility of A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT), this technique offers highly efficient means for characterizing the genes that are important for the pathogenicity of M. grisea.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)407-411
Number of pages5
JournalMolecules and cells
Volume12
Issue number3
StatePublished - Dec 31 2001

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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