Insect-resistant transgenic plants: choosing the gene to do the 'job'

Overexpression of soybean trypsin inhibitor genes decreases defoliation by corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) in soybean (Glycine max) and Arabidopsis thaliana

Trypsin inhibitors (TIs) are widely distributed in plants and are known to play a protective role against herbivores. TIs reduce the biological activity of trypsin, an enzyme involved in the breakdown of many different proteins, by inhibiting the activation and catalytic reactions of proteins. Soybean (Glycine max) contains two major TI classes: Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) and Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI). Both genes encoding TI inactivate trypsin and chymotrypsin enzymes, which are the main digestive enzymes in the gut fluids of Lepidopteran larvae feeding on soybean. In this study, the possible role of soybean TIs in plant defense against insects and nematodes was investigated. A total of six TIs were tested, including three known soybean trypsin inhibitors (KTI1, KTI2 and KTI3) and three genes encoding novel inhibitors identified in soybean (KTI5, KTI7, and BBI5). Their functional role was further examined by overexpression of the individual TI genes in soybean and Arabidopsis. The endogenous expression patterns of these TI genes varied among soybean tissues, including leaf, stem, seed, and root. In vitro enzyme inhibitory assays showed significant increase in trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitory activities in both transgenic soybean and Arabidopsis. Detached leaf-punch feeding bioassays detected significant reduction in corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) larval weight when larvae fed on transgenic soybean and Arabidopsis lines, with the greatest reduction observed in KTI7 and BBI5 overexpressing lines. Whole soybean plant greenhouse feeding bioassays with H. zea on KTI7 and BBI5 overexpressing lines resulted in significantly reduced leaf defoliation compared to non-transgenic plants. However, bioassays of KTI7 and BBI5 overexpressing lines with soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycines) showed no differences in SCN female index between transgenic and non-transgenic control plants. There were no significant differences in growth and productivity between transgenic and non-transgenic plants grown in the absence of herbivores to full maturity under greenhouse conditions. The present study provides further insight into the potential applications of TI genes for insect resistance improvement in plants.

Effects of class-specific, synthetic, and natural proteinase inhibitors on life-history traits of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera

Herbivorous insects have more difficulty obtaining proteins from their food than do predators and parasites. The scarcity of proteins in their diet requires herbivores to feed voraciously, thus heavily damaging their host plants. Plants respond to herbivory by producing defense compounds, which reduce insect growth, retard development, and increase mortality. Herbivores use both pre- and postdigestive response mechanisms to detect and avoid plant defense compounds. Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) are one example of plant compounds produced as a direct defense against herbivory. Many insects can adapt to PIs when these are incorporated into artificial diets. However, little is known about the effect of PIs on diet choice and feeding behavior. We monitored the diet choice, life-history traits, and gut proteinase activity of Helicoverpa armigera larvae using diets supplemented with synthetic and natural PIs. In choice experiments, both neonates and fourth-instar larvae preferred the control diet over PI-supplemented diets, to varying degrees. Larvae that fed on PI-supplemented diets weighed less than those that fed on the control diet and produced smaller pupae. Trypsin-specific PIs had a stronger effect on mean larval weight than did other PIs. A reduction of trypsin activity but not of chymotrypsin activity was observed in larvae fed on PI-supplemented diets. Therefore, behavioral avoidance of feeding on plant parts high in PIs could be an adaptation to minimize the impact of this plant's defensive strategy.

Purified winged bean protease inhibitor affects the growth of Bactrocera cucurbitae

The melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a serious agricultural pest which has defied the various control measures employed against it. Protease inhibitors present in plants which have the potential to inhibit the growth and development of associated insect pests can be a possible alternative which can be manipulated for developing resistance in plants to the pest. In the present study, winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) protease inhibitor isolated through affinity chromatography was explored for its potential to disrupt the development of melon fruit fly, B. cucurbitae. Different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µg ml-1) of the winged bean protease inhibitor (WBPI) were incorporated into the artificial diet of the second instar (64-72 h old) larvae of B. cucurbitae. The WBPI significantly delayed the larval, pupal, and total development period. The percentage pupation and adult emergence of the treated larvae was reduced as compared with control. The activities of major digestive enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, leucine aminopeptidase, and elastase) decreased significantly in the larvae treated with different concentrations (50, 100, 200, and 400 µg ml-1) of WBPI. The findings reveal that the inhibitor holds considerable promise for the management of the melon fruit fly.

Purification and properties of trypsin-like enzyme from the midgut of Morimus funereus (coleoptera, cerambycidae) Larvae

Trypsin-like enzyme (TLE) from the anterior midgut of Morimus funereus larvae was purified by anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography and characterized. Specific TLE activity was increased 322-fold by purification of the crude midgut extract. The purified enzyme had a pH optimum of 9.0 (optimum pH range 8.5-9.5) and temperature optimum of 45 degrees C with the K(M) ratio of 0.065 mM for benzoyl-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BApNA). Among a number of inhibitors tested, the most efficient was benzamidine (K(I) value of 0.012 mM, Ic(50) value of 0.204 mM) while inhibition of TLE activity by SBTI, TLCK, and PMSF was partial. Almost all divalent cations tested enhanced the enzyme activity, amongst them Co2+ and Mn2+ stimulated TLE activity for 2.5 times. The purified TLE (after gel-filtration on Superose 12 column) had a molecular mass of 37.5 kDa with an isoelectric point over 9.3. Sodium dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed one band of 38 kDa, suggesting that the enzyme is a monomer.

TMOF-like factor controls the biosynthesis of serine proteases in the larval gut of Heliothis virescens

Proteolytic enzyme biosynthesis in the midgut of the 4th instar larva of Heliothis virescens is cyclical. Protease activity increases immediately after the molt from the 3rd to the 4th instar larvae and declines just before the molt into the 5th instar. Characterization of the midgut proteases using soybean tryspin inhibitor (SBTI) Bowman Birk Inhibitor (BBI) 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzensulfonylfluoride (AEBSF) and N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethylketone (TPCK) indicate that protease activity is mostly trypsinlike (80%) with a small amount of chymotrypsinlike activity (20%). Injections of late 3rd and 4th instar larval hemolymph into H. virescens larvae inhibited tryspin biosynthesis in the larval midgut. Similar results were obtained when highly purified 4th instar larval hemolymph that crossreacted with Aea-TMOF antisurm using ELISA was injected into 2nd instar larvae. Injections of Aea-TMOF and its analogues into 2nd instar, and Aea-TMOF alone into 4th instar larvae stopped trypsin biosynthesis 24 and 48 h after the injections, respectively. Injections of 4th instar H. virescens larval hemolymph into female Aedes aegypti that took a blood meal stopped trypsin biosynthesis and egg development. These results show that the biosynthesis of trypsin-like enzymes in the midgut of a lepidoptera is modulated with a hemolymph circulating TMOF-like factor that is closely related to Aea-TMOF. Arch.

Digestive proteolytic activity in larvae of tomato moth, Lacanobia oleracea; effects of plant protease inhibitors in vitro and in vivo

Three distinct digestive protease activities, with strongly alkaline pH optima, were identified in the gut of tomato moth (Lacanobia oleracea) larvae, and characterised using specific synthetic substrates and inhibitors. These were; a trypsin-like activity, a chymotrypsin-like activity specific for substrates and inhibitors containing more than one amino acid residue, and an elastase-like activity, accounting for 40%, 30% and 20% of overall proteolysis respectively. The protease activities differed in their sensitivities to inhibition by different plant protein protease inhibitors (PIs), as estimated by I(50) values. Soya bean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI) was the only plant PI tested to inhibit all three digestive protease activities at concentrations <40 &mgr;g/ml (approx. 5x10(-6)M). Incorporation of SKTI into a potato leaf-based artificial diet at 2% of total protein, decreased larval survival and growth (by approx. 33% and 40% respectively after 21 days) and retarded development (by approx. 2 days). However, when SKTI was expressed in transgenic potato plants at approx. 0.5% of total protein, only marginal effects on L. oleracea larvae were observed, which decreased with time. Whilst the presence of SKTI in artificial diet increased endogenous larval trypsin-like activity by up to four-fold, no effects on this activity were observed in larvae feeding on transgenic plants.