J. Tourneur

Medicago truncatula, a model plant for studying the molecular genetics of theRhizobium-legume symbiosis

Medicago truncatula has all the characteristics required for a concerted analysis of nitrogen-fixing symbiosis withRhizobium using the tools of molecular biology, cellular biology and genetics.M. truncatula is a diploid and autogamous plant has a relatively small genome, and preliminary molecular analysis suggests that allelic heterozygosity is minimal compared with the cross-fertilising tetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa). TheM. truncatula cultivar Jemalong is nodulated by theRhizobium meliloti strain 2011, which has already served to define many of the bacterial genes involved in symbiosis with alfalfa. A genotype of Jemalong has been identified which can be regenerated after transformation byAgrobacterium, thus allowing the analysis ofin-vitro-modified genes in an homologous transgenic system. Finally, by virtue of the diploid, self-fertilising and genetically homogeneous character ofM. truncatula, it should be relatively straightforward to screen for recessive mutations in symbiotic genes, to carry out genetic analysis, and to construct an RFLP map for this plant.

Restriction maps and homologies of the three plasmids of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4

Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4 is a virulent agropine-type strain possessing three plasmids: plasmid a (pArA4a, 180 kb) is not necessary for plant transformation, plasmid b (250 kb) is the root-inducing plasmid (pRiA4), and plasmid c (pArA4c) is a cointegrate of pArA4a and pRiA4. The total plasmid DNA (pArA4) of strain A4 was cloned in the cosmid pHSG262 and the library obtained was used to establish BamHI maps of the three plasmids. The plasmids a and Ri have an apparently identical region and a partly homologous region, and are different in the remaining regions including their origins of replication. Another agropine-type A. rhizogenes strain, HRI, bears only one plasmid, which is the Ri plasmid (pRiHRI). pRiHRI and pRiA4 present the same restriction maps for a great part, but are different in a region of 48 kb; however, this region of pRiHRI is found unmodified in pArA4a and may have a role in the virulence of the bacteria. The comparison between the restriction maps of the plasmids of strain A4 leads us to propose that the recombination event leading to pArA4c formation occurs within the identical regions of pArA4a and pRiA4. In addition, the comparison with the already established map of pRiHRI suggests that strain HRI could have been derived from a recombination event between the two homologous regions of pArA4c with subsequent loss of the smaller plasmid.

Transfer of a 4.3-kb fragment of the TL-DNA of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4 confers the pRi transformed phenotype to regenerated tobacco plants

Abstract Two strategies were used to transfer into tobacco a 4.3-kb fragment of the TL-DNA of the Ri plasmid of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4. In the liposome-mediated procedure a plasmid containing a neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPT II) gene conferring kanamycin resistance and another plasmid containing the 4.3-kb Eco RI fragment (pRiA4 Eco RI-15) were co-transferred into the tobacco genome. In the Agrobacterium transformation procedure, a micro-Ri vector containing a kanamycin resistance gene and the same pRiA4 fragment was used to transform tobacco leaf fragments. Kanamycin resistant plants were regenerated in both cases. They present a phenotype similar to that of plants regenerated from hairy roots induced by A. rhizogenes , that is wrinkled leaves, reduced apical dominance and ability to form hairy root on leaf fragments. In one plant (Ka158), the organization, expression and transmission to the progency of the inserted foreign DNA were analyzed more precisely.

Introduction of new traits into cotton through genetic engineering: insect resistance as example

The main goal of gene transfer into cotton is the development of insect-resistant varieties. The stakes are important since cotton protection against insects uses almost 24% of the worlds chemical insecticides market, which is not without consequences on the environment. The first approach was to introduce and express in the cotton genome, genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) which produces entomopathogenic toxins. The development of an efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation system was the first step. The expression of B.t. genes was studied and synthetic genes more adapted to a plant genome have been constructed. Studies on their expression in cotton is underway. The second focus was to develop strategies that would minimize the risks of inducing insect resistance. The main approach is to associate several genes coding for entomopathogenic proteins with different modes of action. Genes encoding protease inhibitors were chosen. One possibility is to associate a B.t. gene and a gene encoding a protease inhibitor. Several protease inhibitors were tested in artificial diets on major pests of cotton. The corresponding genes have been introduced into the cotton genome. These various orientations of the research program will be presented.

The expression of Bacillus thuringiensis toxin genes in plant cells

Abstract Plants expressing genes encoding δ-endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have triggered interest for the control of insect pests. Numerous plant species have been transformed with genes encoding various toxins. The first transformation experiments conducted with bacterial genes showed that their level of expression in plants is too low to confer adequate protection. To circumvent these problems, Bt toxin genes have been modified or resynthesized, dramatically improving their level of expression and the protection afforded. Despite these improvements, problems remain: the control of less susceptible insects and the durable deployment of transgenic plants have yet to be fully addressed.

The cryic gene from Bacillus thuringiensis provides protection against Spodoptera littoralis in young transgenic plants

Abstract A 3′-end truncated crystal protein gene derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai 7.29, encoding the toxic fragment of the insecticidal CRYIC protein, was placed under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter with a duplicated enhancer. Its expression in tobacco conferred significant insecticidal activity towards the important pest Spodoptera littoralis . Expression of the CRYIC toxin is at its maximum level at the early stages of plant development then decreases as the plants become older.