15. Fungus resistant transgenic plants
• Several agricultural crops are severly damaged by
fungal infections, which result in dramatic yield loss.
• Plants accumulate number of pathogenic related
proteins (PR) during infection. PR proteins (glucanases,
chitinase, thaumitin like proteins, protease inhibitors)
shows enhanced acquired resistance in plants.
• Transgenic plants( using binary vectors) have been
designed to produce high levels of chitinase which
can hydrolyse 1,4 linkages of NAM polymer chitin, a
majpr component of fungal cell wall.
16. Virus resistant transgenic plants
• Plant viruses often cause considerable plant
damage and significantly reduce yields.
• Immunization with viral coat protein gene has
been practiced
• When transgenic plant expresses the gene for
coat protein of a virus that normally infects
those plants, the ability of the virus tp
subsequently infect the plants is greatly
diminished.
19. Transgenic plants resistant to drought
and salt stress
• Many plants live in environments where
growth can be severely impaired by either
drought or high salinity.
• Plants under these conditions synthesize low
molecular weight substances called
Osmoprotectants.
• Well known osmoprotectants include sugars,
alcohols, proline and quaternary ammonium
compounds (betaine).