Attack of plants by necrotizing pathogens leads to acquired resistance to the same or other pathogens in tissues adjacent to or remotely located from the site of initial attack. We have used Arabidopsis thaliana inoculated with the incompatible pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv syringae on the lower leaves to test the induction of systemic reactions. When plants were challenged with Pseudomonas ...

A 125-member library of synthetic linear undecapeptides was prepared based on a previously described peptide H-K(1)KLFKKILKF(10)L-NH(2) (BP76) that inhibited in vitro growth of the plant pathogenic bacteria Erwinia amylovora, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae at low micromolar concentrations. Peptides were designed using a combinatorial chemistry appr...

To enhance plant protection against phytopathogens, we constructed a fusion gene (SAP) for the simultaneous production of snakin-1 (SN1) and defensin-1 (PTH1) cysteine-rich antimicrobial proteins originally identified in potato. Prior to in vivo evaluation of antimicrobial activity, SAP produced in Escherichia coli was tested in in vitro against four phytopathogenic microorganisms. SAP exhibite...

The Arabidopsis thaliana suppressor of npr1-1, constitutive 1 (snc1) mutant contains a gain-of-function mutation in a Toll Interleukin1 receptor-nucleotide binding-Leu-rich repeat-type resistance gene (R-gene), which leads to constitutive activation of disease resistance response against pathogens. In a screen for suppressors of snc1, a recessive mutation, designated mos3 (for modifier of snc1,...

Based on nucleotide sequence homology with the Escherichia coli photolyase gene (phr), the phr sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 was identified from the genome sequence, amplified by PCR, cloned, and shown to complement a known phr mutation following expression in Escherichia coli SY2. Stable, insertional phr mutants containing a tetracycline resistance gene cassette were constructed in P...

In the past decade, characterization of the host targets of pathogen virulence factors took a center stage in the study of pathogenesis and disease susceptibility in plants and humans. However, the impressive knowledge of host targets has not been broadly exploited to inhibit pathogen infection. Here, we show that host target modification could be a promising new approach to "protect" the disea...