Examples of hairpinRNAi in different plants
CSIRO’s hairpinRNAi technology works equally well in both model plants such as Arabidopsis, rice and Medicago and non-model including a range of crops. The following examples both from CSIRO and other laboratories validate the performance of hairpinRNAi in a variety of plant species: It has the potential of silencing genes in any transformable species.
- Virus resistance in potato using a gene from Potato Leaf Roll Virus (figure), virus resistance and gene silencing in plants is induced by double-stranded RNA. (Waterhouse et al, 1998, PNAS 95: 13959-13964).
- Virus resistance in barley and wheat using a gene from Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (figure). A single copy of a virus derived transgene encoding hairpin RNA gives immunity to barley yellow dwarf virus (Wang et al., 2000, Molecular Plant Pathology 1: 401-10).
- Polyphenol oxidase silencing in potato (figure) reduced the enzymatic browning of potatoes (Wesley et al., 2001, Plant J. 27: 581-590)
- FAD2-1 gene in cotton - high-stearic and high-oleic cottonseed oils produced by hairpin RNA mediated post-transcriptional gene silencing (Liu et al., 2002, Plant Physiology 129: 1732-1743).
- The main allergens of ryegrass pollen Lol p1 and Lol p2 - ryegrass pollen (Lolium species) is a widespread source of air-borne allergens and is a major cause of hay fever and seasonal allergic asthma, which affect approximately 25 per cent of the population in cool temperate climates. These transgenic plants will allow the study of the functional role in plants of these pollen proteins and determine the potential for development of hypo-allergenic ryegrass cultivars. (Petrovska N et al., 2004, Molecular Breeding 14: 489-501).
- Codeinone reductase (COR) in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum - this is the first report of gene silencing in transgenic opium poppy and illustrates its potential for metabolic engineering (Allen et al., 2004, Nature Biotechnology 22: 1559-1566).
- PhEIN2 gene in petunia - this gene mediates ethylene signals in a wide range of physiological processes. (Shibuya et al., 2004, Plant Physiology, 136: 2900-2912).
- ACC Oxidase in tomato. 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) oxidase catalyses the oxidation of ACC to ethylene, a plant growth regulator that plays an important role in the tomato ripening process. “When we applied this fast way of shutting down the ACC oxidase gene, transgenic tomato plants were produced that had fruit which released traces of ethylene and had a prolonged shelf life of more than 120 days” (Xiong et al., 2005, Plant Cell Reports 23: 639-646).
- Putrescine N-methyl transferase (pmt) genes in Nicotiana attenuata – “these results provide strong evidence that nicotine functions as an efficient defence in nature and highlights the value of transgenic techniques for ecological research” (Steppuhn et al., 2004, PLOS Biology 2: 1074-1080).
- GLX-I, a stress related gene in maize – “GLX-I may play an important role in controlling MG levels inside kernels, thereby contributing to the lower levels of aflatoxins found in resistant maize genotypes”. (Chen et al., 2004, Phytopathology, 94: 938-945).
- Major apple allergen Mal d 1 in apple “Mal d1 expression was successfully reduced by hairpinRNAi in in vitro grow apple plantlets. This translated into significantly reduced in vivo allergenicity” (Gilissen LJ et al, 2005, J Allergy Clinical Immunology., 115: 364-9).
