Characterization of two class II chitinase genes from peanut and expression studies in transgenic tobacco plants

✍ Scribed by Jan-Wolfhard Kellmann; Tatjana Kleinow; Kerstin Engelhardt; Christina Philipp; Dorothee Wegener; Jeff Schell; Peter H. Schreier

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 847 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0167-4412
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00020121

✦ Synopsis

Two different genes encoding class II chitinases from peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. NC4), A.h.Chi2;l and A.h.Chi2;2, have been cloned. In peanut cell suspension cultures, mRNA levels of A.h.Chi2;2 increased after ethylene or salicylate treatment and in the presence of conidia from Botrytis cinerea. The second gene, A.h. Chi2;l, was only expressed after treatment with the fungal spores. Transgenic tobacco plants containing the complete peanut A.h. Chi2;1 gene exhibited essentially the same expression pattern in leaves as observed in peanut cell cultures. Expression characteristics of transgenic tobacco carrying a promoter-GU S fusion of A.h. Chi2;l are described.