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Transgenic sugarcane overexpressing CaneCPI-1 negatively affects the growth and development of the sugarcane weevil Sphenophorus levis.

Authors :
Schneider VK
Soares-Costa A
Chakravarthi M
Ribeiro C
Chabregas SM
Falco MC
Henrique-Silva F
Source :
Plant cell reports [Plant Cell Rep] 2017 Jan; Vol. 36 (1), pp. 193-201. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Nov 11.
Publication Year :
2017

Abstract

Key Message: Transgenic sugarcane expressing CaneCPI-1 exhibits resistance to Sphenophorus levis larvae. Transgenic plants have widely been used to improve resistance against insect attack. Sugarcane is an economically important crop; however, great losses are caused by insect attack. Sphenophorus levis is a sugarcane weevil that digs tunnels in the stem base, leading to the destruction of the crop. This insect is controlled inefficiently by chemical insecticides. Transgenic plants expressing peptidase inhibitors represent an important strategy for impairing insect growth and development. Knowledge of the major peptidase group present in the insect gut is critical when choosing the most effective inhibitor. S. levis larvae use cysteine peptidases as their major digestive enzymes, primarily cathepsin L-like activity. In this study, we developed transgenic sugarcane plants that overexpress sugarcane cysteine peptidase inhibitor 1 (CaneCPI-1) and assessed their potential through feeding bioassays with S. levis larvae. Cystatin overexpression in the transgenic plants was evaluated using semi-quantitative RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and immunoblot assays. A 50% reduction of the average weight was observed in larvae that fed on transgenic plants in comparison to larvae that fed on non-transgenic plants. In addition, transgenic sugarcane exhibited less damage caused by larval attack than the controls. Our results suggest that the overexpression of CaneCPI-1 in sugarcane is a promising strategy for improving resistance against this insect.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1432-203X
Volume :
36
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Plant cell reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
27837261
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-2071-2